Its sound is distinct as it whistles out its name: Bob -- White. But the sound is becoming increasingly muted as quail populations across the state decline.
"The landscape for quail has changed very significantly over the last 40 years," said Dale Rollins, a Texas AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist based in San Angelo.
Rollins has devoted his life to quail research, education and management in Texas.
"I heard my first quail call when I was four years old," Rollins said, adding that he was hooked.
The demise of quail populations in Texas is on an east to west trajectory. Rollins said he frequently gets calls from people in the eastern two-thirds of the state saying there's no quail on their land anymore, even though nothing has changed on the property.
"I say maybe nothing has happened on your place, but there's been subtle changes," he said.
An aerial view of the landscape would likely show urban encroachment and introduced pastures in areas that on average receive high rainfall totals.
Most of the good quail country currently is in an 18- to 25-inch rainfall zone. Rainfall accounts for maybe 50 to 70 percent of the variability in annual populations, he explained.
Land fragmentation caused by population growth also hasn't been a quail-friendly change.
"The cause for concern ultimately is the human population. When all the state looks like I-35, we can't have quail," Rollins said.
However, his words do carry a note of optimism.
Landowners who are buying large tracts of land for wildlife recreation can be a benefit to quail.
"All of a sudden quail rule. As such, they can implement more quail-friendly grazing management and brush management," Rollins said.
Grazing and brush management are the two biggest tools available to a rancher or land steward, he added.
Quail-friendly habitat includes brush piles the size of the hood of a car spaced about every 40 to 60 yards apart. This brush cover can be shrubs, yaupon or greenbriar patches. The quail cover needs to be dense above, but open at ground level, he said.
"Every time a quail is exposed, somebody is trying to catch it or whack it," Rollins said.
"Quail are high on the food list of a lot out there."
Ranchers also should monitor the grazing pressure on quail habitat, he said.
Landowners across the state have joined together to restore and preserve wildlife and its habitat. Organizations have been formed in counties such as Navarro, Washington, Austin and Colorado.
The Wildlife Habitat Federation is one organization that works to preserve wildlife in South Central Texas.
Rollins also is optimistic about the mission and work being done at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch in Roby, where he is the director.
"The fact that we have the new quail research ranch ... it's one of the reasons I have some optimism," he said.
The ranch's mission is to "sustain Texas' wild quail hunting heritage for this and future generations." Its Web site is http://teamquail.tamu.edu.
"It's a good portal on quail. It's a good one-stop shopping center," Rollins said.
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