Winter Food Habits and Preferences of Northern Bobwhites in East Texas

During late winter, 1994 and 1995, we investigated food habits and preferences of northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhites) collected on forested lands in east Texas. Crops for bobwhites were collected from areas under 3 management regimes, namely intensively managed for bobwhites (QMA) (i.e., tree basal area reduced, annually burned, numerous multi-stage food plots, etc.), extensively managed for timber and wildlife (NBS) (i.e., burned every 3-5 years, scattered 2-stage food plots with corn feeders), and unmanaged for wildlife (i.e., burned every 5-7 years). With years pooled, partridge pea (Cassia fasciculata), Hercules club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis), and pine (Pinus spp.) seeds, and clover leaflets (Trifolium spp.) comprised 93% by weight of foods of 79 bobwhites foods on QMA. On NBS, 81% of 40 bobwhite diets was butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum), browntop millet, pine, wild bean (Strophostyles spp.), and corn seeds and clover leaflets; millet and corn were from food plots and feeders, respectively. For unmanaged areas, 79% of 19 bobwhite diets was butterfly pea, rush (Juncus spp.), pine, partridge pea, and American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) seeds, and clover leaflets. Top-ranked food items on QMA were pine