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Abstract
The continued decline of northern bobwhite populations has energized the use of reintroduction strategies coupled with habitat management to achieve restoration goals. We sought to determine if restocking of wild northern bobwhites via translocation impacted survival and growth rates of translocated northern bobwhite chicks or altered parental investment strategies (brood defense behaviors) compared to resident counterparts. There were no differences in chick survival rates of translocated or resident bobwhites over our two-year study; however, survival estimates were lower in 2017. We found that increasing age and tarsus length positively impacted daily survival rates of bobwhite chicks. Offspring growth rates of translocated bobwhites were lower than resident cohorts; however, these reduced growth rates did not carry any survival consequences. Additionally, we found no difference in brood defense behaviors of translocated bobwhites. These results indicate that translocation does not alter behavioral patterns or negatively impact offspring survival rates in wild bobwhites.