Arkansas Quail

The allotment lady in England is hatching quail as we speak and I got to thinking about our Arkansas Quail. The bob white quail gets it name from it's call which sound like BOBWHITE. I have not seen these birds in 15 years, of course I don't get out much any more but I would like to see a covey of quail again.
The hen makes her nest on the ground and when I stumbled on one when I was a child the hen would rise and fly away, making a mighty sound with her wings. This always startled me.
The northern bobwhite (Colinus virgini-anus) was dubbed “Prince of the Game Birds” by
Charles Elliot in his book of the same title. It’s a fitting title seldom disputed by bird watchers and bird hunters alike. However, because of habitat loss,the once vast bobwhite quail kingdom has been reduced to remnant fields, cut over woodlands and abandoned home sites in rural Arkansas.Description The bobwhite’s plumage is a lesson in camouflage. This plump little bird is a potpourri of brown, black and white feathers. Adult bobwhites are about10 inches tall. Male and female bobwhites can be separated by the color of the throat patch and eyebrow-like band extending to the back of the head. Males (cocks) dis-play a distinct white throat-patch and eye band, while females (hens) have a less-contrasting golden-brown throat patch and eye-band.Distribution Prior to the white man’s arrival, bob-whites were present in isolated pockets throughout the state but vast, dense forests held population growth to a slow pace. Once settlers entered Arkansas, the pace of converting forest to farm quickened. Fire was frequently used to aid in converting woodlands to fields and crop-lands, a practice widely used in bobwhite management today. As Arkansas forests became farmlands, bobwhite habitat grew And the hearty little bird expanded its population and range.