Comparative Ecology of Bobwhite and Scaled Quail in the Oklahoma Panhandle

Abstract

Bobwhite quail were encountered primarily in the riparian habitat in Cimarron County while the scaled quail occupied parts of the short grass, sandsage grassland, and pifion-juniper vegetation types. During a severe drought period, 1954-56, scaled quail populations remained at a high level while bobwhite quail numbers diminished. The early winter diet of bobwhite and scaled quail was similar. Scaled quail mingled in larger coveys during the winter period than did bobwhites. INTRODUCTION The Oklahoma Panhandle area provided an ideal opportunity to study simultaneously two species of quail, bobwhite (Colinus virginianus L.) and scaled (Callipepla squamata (Vigors)), at the overlapping peripheries of their respective geographic ranges. Furthermore the two species sometimes intermingled closely as members of the same covey. This suggested a certain degree of ecological equivalency between the two species. Odum (1954) defined ecological equivalents as organisms which occupy the same ecological niche in similar communities. The similarities and differences in some of the ecological and behavioral attributes of these two common quail will be considered in detail. This paper is based on 18 months of field observations made in Cimarron County extending from June, 1954 to November, 1957. The specific ecology of the scaled quail is treated in more detail by Schemnitz (1961). Acknowledgments.-This research (Contribution No. 359 of the Department of Zoology) was supported by the Oklahoma Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit (Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Department Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Management Institute, and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cooperating). Dr. A. M. Stebler, Unit Leader, provided essential advice and counsel during this study. Dr. F. M. Baumgartner offered many helpful sug-