There are 21 subspecies of northern bobwhite, a ground-dwelling bird native to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
The archaeological record from excavations of indigenous peoples' sites in North America reveal few quail bones, suggesting that those early inhabitants focused on larger game that may have produced greater results for the effort involved.
[2] Due to their popularity as game birds and their extensive distribution, quail have been studied throughout the North American continent, particularly in the 20th century.
Causes included disease, habitat reduction, hunting, weather variables and other impacts.
These were addressed through formation of organizations such as Quail Unlimited and through side benefits from the 1981 Farm Act, which encouraged farmers to remove highly eroded land from cultivation, thus increasing quail habitat.