From: Martin on 12/11/2002 09:25 AM
To:
cc:
Subject: Bobwhite Quail - Australia
Just some information for the list on Bobwhite Quail in Australia. The
following has been provided to me from Simon Toop who works in the Victorian
Game Management Unit (Melbourne) which is part of the Department of Natural
Resources and Environment.
~~~~~~~~~~~
(I'm) Not sure of the status of any wild populations of Bobwhites in Tasmania,
but they are released on properties to provide recreational hunting. They
closest resemble (in terms of habit) Brown Quail in that they concentrate in
coveys of up to 20-30 birds in open shrublands/forest and will explode from
cover in numbers when disturbed. Unlike any Australian quail species, they are
perching birds, but feed, nest and will sleep on the ground.
In Victoria, the species cannot legally be released on "gamebird farms" where
hunting is the primary activity. A range of other non-indigenous gamebirds can
be released on the preserves but, for some reason when the regulations were
drafted, Bobwhite were not included. Despite this, I know that hunters are
releasing and hunting the birds in Victoria.
Tasmania has some interesting laws with relation to the release of introduced
species for hunting. They actively promote the establishment of ring-necked
pheasants and it would appear that the Bobwhite Quail could be another species
that they are trying to establish wild populations. The article in 'Game Tracks'
suggests that they are established in some areas already and I don't doubt it.
They do breed well in captivity, despite the assertion that they don't, and have
a high replacement potential (average clutch 7-12 and can double clutch).
Don't know if I can add much more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some useful web sites on the species:
Bobwhite Quail in America, habitat requirements -
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/forest/steward/www8.html
Northern Bobwhite Quail, biology etc (includes images) -
http://www.northern-bobwhite-quail-birds.com/
Bobwhite Quail management (USA) -
http://www.aces.edu/department/ipm/bobwhite.htm
cheers
Martin O'Brien
Executive Scientific Officer, Scientific Advisory Committee
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
4/250 Victoria Pde., East Melbourne 3002
Tel: 9412 4567 Fax: 9412 4586
(prefixes: Interstate 03 International 613)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
