Historic and recent information on the occurrence of avian pox, an infectious viral disease, in southeastern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) is summarized. An apparent long-term(\u3e 50 year) low-level (\u3c 2 percent) rate of infection occurred prior to an outbreak with a 12-fold increase in prevalence in 1978-1979. Post-outbreak monitoring during the two succeeding years disclosed that the regional prevalence of infection declined to near the pre-outbreak rate. The significance of avian pox as a regional and local mortality factor is discussed
