Few symbols represent the prized sporting traditions and culture of the South as well as the bobwhite.  Unfortunately, as this graph of Breeding Bird Survey data compellingly illustrates, the bobwhite is in a serious situation.  Bobwhite populations across the Southeast have experienced a nearly straight-line decline for at least 35 years.  It is reasonable to conclude from this best-available data that this valued symbol of the South is fading away.
	Central to understanding the big picture is recognition of the similar trends of an entire guild of songbirds that share the bobwhite’s grass, weed and shrubland habitats.  This graph shows the status just one of these--the loggerhead shrike—which has a population trend that mirrors the bobwhite’s. Aside from their similar habitat preferences, these two birds have distinctly different characteristics.
	The bobwhite is an omnivore, feeding primarily on seeds and insects; is a prey species; is social for most of the year, associating with other quail in coveys; is a ground- nester, and is a hunted species.  The shrike is a carnivore—a predator--feeding on small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects; is solitary; nests in shrubs and trees, and is not hunted.