Weird error in the Webster definition... a bobwhite is a quail that lives in the grassy central plains area of the US. A group of quail is called a covey. They are about the size of a pigeon, and unlike pigeons, are good to eat. The male is more boldly colored than the female. Their call is two or three notes, either "bob" (low note)-"white" (high note), or "bob" (low note)-"bob"(lower note)-"white" (high note). Quail season is in the fall and early winter. They are hunted with dogs, usually a spaniel of some sort, that is bred and trained to "point" when they sense some birds in the grass. When the covey goes airborne, the hunters shoot them with a shotgun. Quail hunters realize that quail habitat must be protected in order for the species to keep surviving. Most hunters support conservation activities of some sort or another.

Bob"white` (?), n. Zool.

The common quail of North America (Colinus, or Ortyx, Virginianus); -- so called from its note.

 

© Webster 1913.

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