Northern Bobwhite were eaten by Micmac (Mi'kmaq) and Iroquois. The Iroquois ate the flesh as well as the eggs. The Micmac plucked the feathers and roasted the birds on spits above a blazing fire [1-3].
References
1. Stoddard NB: Micmac Foods, vol. re-printed from the Journal of Education February 1966. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Halifax Natural Science Museum; 1970.
2. Waugh FW. In: Iroquois Foods and Food Preparation. edn. Ottawa: Department of Mines. Government Printing Bureau; 1973.
3. Waugh FW: Iroquois Foods and Food Preparation, vol. No. 12; Anthropological Series. Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau; 1916.
The Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is a species of North American quail with a broad, easterly North American distribution, occurring from southern Ontario southward across eastern USA and westward from South Dakota to Mexico. Bobwhites have also been successfully introduced in British Columbia. They weigh between 140 and 170 g and have a bushy crown and a heavy bill. They form breeding pairs, with both sexes participating in nest construction, incubation, and chick-rearing. They feed on leaves, seeds, bulbs, forbs, legumes, and insects. The Northern Bobwhite are native to Canada only in Ontario, where they are listed as endangered by COSEWIC.
Reference
Brennan LA: Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). In: The Birds of North America Online. Edited by Poole A. Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; 1999.