Its plumage is mixed brown, black, and white in the male and brown and buff in the female, making it almost invisible against the vegetation of weedy fields and edges of woodland.
Bobwhites feed on insects and weed seeds.
During much of the year they travel in coveys, sleeping at night in a compact circle, tails to the center. Thus they can fly out in all directions if alarmed. The female is responsible for nest building, and builds a nest on the ground in which she lays 12 to 15 eggs per clutch. Like most quails, bobwhites are monogamous. Bobwhites are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Galliformes, family Phasianidae.