The northern bobwhite is also known as the bobwhite quail and Virginia quail. I recently saw my first one in San Angelo State Park outside of San Angelo, Texas and it about took my breath away. The bold white head with black eye stripe and black neck ring jumps right out at you, then the beautiful plump body consisting of very different patterns and variations of brown are striking.
I was at an area with several bird feeders and was able to watch it quite awhile and get very close photos.
The bobwhite is found in the eastern and mid-U.S., portions of Mexico and parts of the Caribbean. There are 23 subspecies, 3 of which are found in Texas and I can't find enough about the subspecies to help determine which subspecies I saw.
While Judy and I were walking in Balcones Canyonlands NWR we flushed a covey of about 12 quail which may have been bobwhites, but I didn't get enough of a look at them to confirm.
No one told this bird that you shouldn't mix so many patterns--stripes, polka dots, crescents. He has his own sense of fashion, and it actually works!
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