bobwhite

American  

[bob-hwahyt, -wahyt] / ˈbɒbˈʰwaɪt, -ˈwaɪt /

noun

• bobwhites,
  plural
• bobwhite
  plural

1. any of several true quails of the genus Colinus, family Odontophoridae, including C. virginianus northern bobwhite, distributed through much of the Americas, having mottled reddish-brown, black, and white plumage: the bobwhite gets its name from its whistling call, which sweeps upward in pitch as an easily discernible “bob-white.”

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bobwhite British  

/ ˈbɒbˌwaɪt /

noun

1. a brown North American quail, Colinus virginianus , the male of which has white markings on the head: a popular game bird

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bobwhite
  plural
• bobwhites
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of bobwhite

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; imitative of its call

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bobwhite bobwhites

The system’s greenery still harbors the bobwhite quail and other declining species.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2023

Northern bobwhite quail, which are roughly the size of a softball, have short legs, short wings and don’t fly much.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2023

Every day, during the spring, summer and fall, I used to hear the clear, ringing whistle of bobwhite quail.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 25, 2019

The letters we got about our mentioning the bobwhite quail were scarcely the first time we were accused, and convicted, of linguistic malpractice.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 24, 2018

From down in the bottoms I heard the shrill call of a bobwhite and the clammering cry of a kingfisher in flight.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Grassland birds have declined by 53% since 1970—a loss of 700 million adults in the 31 species studied, including meadowlarks and northern bobwhites.

From Science Magazine ● Sep. 19, 2019

But at the same time, farming practices and residential development replaced habitat where bobwhites once thrived.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 22, 2015

It’s not just bobwhites that lost habitat, Cecil said.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 22, 2015

Even if he did, bobwhites nearly disappeared from his rural area.

From Time Magazine Archive

A moment later, she saw movement in the bushes, but it was only a small covey of bobwhites startled from their roost.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

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