Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Northern Bobwhite or Bobwhite Quail
Scientific name:	Colinus virginianus
Date:	Twice between 10/7 - 10/14 [2008]
Time:	Approx. 6:15-6:20 p.m.
Length of time observed:	About 2 minutes
Number:	2
Age:
Sex:	At least 1 was male. The other one was further away, so I can't be sure.
Location:	House/grounds on Mason View Circle, Riverton
County:	Salt Lake Co.
Latilong:
Elevation:
Distance to bird:	20-25 feet
Optical equipment:
Weather:	Clear
Light Conditions:	Fading sunshine 1 day; dusk the other
Description: Size of bird:	Small chicken size
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Rounded, plump, very short tail
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	brown and black/white flecked
(Description:) Bill Type:	Nothing struck me as unusual here; I would call it standard, but I'm not a birder
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	black and white head
Song or call & method of delivery:
Behavior:	First sighting: they were walking thru dirt/scrub area next to house; second sighting: 1 on roof of house, other clinging to front window sill of house
Habitat:	This house has lawn in the front yard, but the back yard where the birds were coming from the first time I saw them is dirt/weeds/scrub--unlandscaped.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Quail. These birds were plumper, bigger and had shorter tails than quail. They also did not have the little bobbly thing on the top of their heads. (Sorry, I don't know what it's called!)
Previous experience with this & similar species:	I used to live in a duplex in Holladay where we frequently had quail that would run thru the yard and perch in groups on our fence. I saw enough quail then to know that the birds I'm writing about were not quail. I found some photos online tagged "Bobwhite Quail" that looked exactly like the birds I saw.
References consulted:	Online photographs and articles found thru Google searches.
Description from:	From memory
Observer:	J. DeMille
Observer's address:
Observer's e-mail address:	jvdem@yahoo.com
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	None.
Date prepared:	10/20/08
Additional material:
Additional comments:	I see that there was another sighting of a Bobwhite reported in 2003 that was basically discounted. The birds I saw were definitely Bobwhites. I got a very good look at them, the second time with sunshine on the bird and the window sill he was perched on. Perhaps they were just migrating thru Utah. I walk my dog past the house where I saw them every evening at about the same time and have only seen them on the 2 occasions I've mentioned. I moved here several years ago from New York state, so when I realized the birds weren't quail, I knew to look up Bobwhites instead. Sure enough, the photos I found match the birds I saw. I'm not what you would consider a birder since I don't travel to places specifically looking for birds, but I do enjoy watching the birds I encounter. I came across your site in my research into the birds I saw and thought you might be interested to know that these had been sighted in Utah as they do not appear to be native.