Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

Northern Bobwhite [dorsal view of adult male]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Monroe County, Kentucky; 9 June 2015.

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Abundance: Uncommon during spring, summer, and fall, becoming Very Uncommon during winter (this difference in abundance results from the species' being less detectible [i.e., less vocal] during winter than during other seasons, not from an actual change in the species' abundance); recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); decreasing over the long-term rather markedly (see Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; photograph (see above).

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 68 (23 April 1977; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB High Count: 65 (26 December 1977; Barren County, Kentucky [Glasgow CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 14 (6 October 2007; Clinton County, Kentucky [FBB]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 11 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 33 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, resulting in a YardWatch frequency classification of Uncommon during each year; this YardWatch frequency classification is reasonably consistent with the overall Regional abundance classification.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: See the Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan (link above). Undergoing long-term population decline as evidenced by data collected on most indices governing that factor. Breeding Bird Survey data are particularly relevant, being one of the more rigorous means of acquiring population data for species breeding in the Region (Regional BBS Data 1998-2017), but Christmas Bird Count Data also point to a steep downward trend in the numbers of this once common but now uncommon member of the Regional avifauna (for example, see Glasgow, KY, CBC data). Breeding Bird Foray data (above) acquired 2008-2016, when compared to Breeding Bird Atlas data acquired c. 1985-1991, indicate that the species was present in roughly comparable numbers on each of the two projects except on the Cumberland Plateau in Morgan and Scott counties, Tennessee, where notable decline in presence and in abundance was evident.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited