Through the Woods: A partridge in a pear tree?

There’s a Christmas song titled "The Twelve Days of Christmas" that mentions a partridge in a pear tree. Did I find one in a Southeast Missouri fence row? The answer is no.

Although there is a partridge called the gray partridge that lives in the wilds of northwest Missouri, there are no wild partridges in Southeast Missouri. The bird shown here is a female bobwhite quail.

The bobwhite quail is listed as a Missouri game bird and has the distinction of being designated Missouri’s official game bird. It was once abundant in Southeast Missouri and was commonly hunted for food. Today, the bobwhite quail is less often hunted. Where you find one bobwhite, you will find others. They live in a family called "a covey". They live most of their life on the ground searching for seeds to eat. The male can be heard in spring calling out a very distinct “BOB-WHITE”.

Aaron Horrell is an artist and outdoorsman. He lives in Chaffee. He owns Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau.