Idaho · UplandNorthern bobwhite quail

Northern bobwhite is rare in Idaho. It was introduced to the Boise Valley in the 1880s, and independent ornithological sourcing corroborates and sharpens this: the species is described as questionably established as a resident in scattered upland grasslands and farmland of southwestern Idaho, with most records elsewhere in the state being vagrants, summer visitors, or, particularly in eastern Idaho, releases of captive-raised birds rather than a wild population. A small overwintering presence has also been reported in the Panhandle. Idaho's cold, snowy winters are cited as the likely reason the species never became broadly established the way California quail did from a similar-era introduction.