Little Bluestem

Native grasses such as Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), provide excellent nesting and brooding habitat for Northern Bobwhite quail and their young. These bunch grasses, typically the size of a basketball at the base, offer a dense nesting substrate that optimizes reproductive success. Bunch grasses commonly grow in a thick mosaic of clumps, interspersed with open patches of bare ground. This creates a network of “highways” and tunnels for quail to traverse in search of food resources, such as invertebrates and seeds. These grasses also help give shade for thermal regulation during the heat of the summer, as well as protection, acting as an obstruction and providing overhead screening cover from avian predators, such as raptors.