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Four experiments were conducted to examine the riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and choline requirements of young Bobwhite quail. Quail fed purified diets deficient in either riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid or choline grew poorly and high mortality occurred by 5 weeks of age. Under the conditions of these experiments, it was found that: (1) young quail require approximately 3.8 mg. riboflavin/kg. diet for satisfactory growth and survival; (2) no more than 31 mg. niacin/kg. diet are required for normal growth and survival of young quail; (3) the requirement for pantothenic acid is higher than has previously been reported, quail in these studies requiring 12.6 mg. pantothenic acid/kg. feed for growth and survival; and (4) the requirement for choline for reducing mortality is approximately 1000 mg./kg., while the amount necessary for normal growth of young quail is no greater than 1500 mg./kg. when the diet contains ample amounts of methionine. Quail fed a niacin-deficient diet developed stiff, shortened feathers and an erythema about the head; those receiving a riboflavin-deficient ration developed enlarged hocks and bowed legs, as did quail fed diets low or devoid of choline. Aside from slow growth, poor feathering was the only other indication that a deficient diet was being fed when quail were placed on a basal ration without pantothenic acid for five weeks.

Asulam (methyl 4-aminobenzenesulfonyl carbamate) is a broadspectrum systemic herbicide active against broadleaf weeds such as dock (Rumex sp.) and bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) (SOPER et al., 1948; HOLROYD et al., 1970). These weeds are pests in pasture lands and reforestation areas, respectively. Asulam is registered throughout the world, as Asulox(R) herbicide for use in pastures and other non-crop uses and in the Caribbean for control of johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) in sugarcane (TUCKETT and BALL, 1968). It is currently under experimentation in the United States for these same purposes.

A wide range of responses to sublethal levels of DDT exist, many of which are species specific and vary within each species depending upon age, sex, and physiological state. Sublethal levels of DDT do cause an increase in the adrenal cortical tissue of bobwhite quail, which may cause increased secretion of corticosteroids, and in turn affect reproduction. A delicate homeostatic balance exists within the avian endocrine system which may be disturbed by feeding sublethal levels of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides. This adverse effect on the endocrine system may cause subtle reproductive failures which go unnoticed until the population is greatly reduced.

Feeding studies were done with the larvae and nymphs of the Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, using the Deer Mouse, Hispid Cotton Rat, Eastern Woodrat, Bobwhite Quail, Black-tailed Jack Rabbit, the Raccoon, and the Opossum as experimental hosts. Engorgement weight, engorgement time, engorgement success, molted weight, molted adult dimensions, and percentage of molting success were determined for similarly aged and treated ticks reared on artificially infested caged hosts. Data were averaged for several hosts of the same species and mean comparisons were made to determine if host species had any effect on parameters measured. Differences associated with quantity and possibly quality of the ingested meal from different host species caused differences in the molted tick weights. The engorgement time and success were host-species dependent, but the percentage of molt was greater than 85% within all host species groups. No difference in the measured dimensions of the adult ticks of similar weight could be attributed to host species.

The components of dustbathing in 12 male and 12 female Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) were described. These components form a sequence of entering the dust, pecking and scratching in the dust while standing, squatting in the dust, pecking and scratching in the dust while squatting, movements of the wings and feet to toss dust onto the ruffed plumage (dust toss), rubbing the head and side in the dust (head rub and side rub), rising, ruffling the feathers and vigorously shaking the dust out of the plumage (ruffle-shake), exiting the dust, and engaging in other behavior such as eating and drinking. Two tests were conducted at 1 day of deprivation of dust (to assess the reliability of both frequencies and sequences of components) and one test at 5 days of deprivation (to assess changes in these measures with increases in deprivation). The frequencies of seven of these components and the sequence in which the components first occurred had statistically significant reliability coefficients at both levels of deprivation. The frequencies of the components involved in driving dust into the plumage (dust toss, head rub, side rub) were significantly correlated. A statistic to measure the stability of these correlations was introduced. The frequencies of eight of the components showed significant increases with greater deprivation of dust. Male birds showed more of an increase with deprivation in the frequencies of the head and side rub components than did female birds. The sequence in which the components occurred was analyzed. The first occurrences of the dust toss, head rub, and side rub components were invariably in this order, for all of the birds tested at each deprivation level. The order of the first occurrences of the remaining components was variable. Individual components were generally repeated many times throughout a sequence; the order of each occurrence of each of the components was extremely variable between birds and tests. These results are discussed in terms of a lipid regulation model which suggests that dustbathing serves to remove lipid substances from the plumage.

Selected polydimethylsiloxane, (PDMS) fluids and formulations were studied in certain biological systems to evaluate the possible environmental impact of these materials. These siloxanes are not detectably degraded by sewage microorganisms as shown in a study with [14C] PDMS. The very low toxicity of these materials to daphnia, fresh water fish, marine species, mallard ducks, bobwhite quail, and domestic chickens; and their nonaccumulation in the flesh and eggs of chickens and in the flesh of fish minimizes concern regarding their potential to cause environmental damage.

Chase, capture, and restraint of Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) typically lead birds to become immobile. In the first experiment time to capture a bird (chase time), duration of immobility, and rate of respiration during immobility were measured on two successive tests. Chase time was significantly related to duration of immobility. Duration of immobility, the most commonly used measure of the response, was a reliable index of it. In the second experiment aspects of the predator-defense interpretation of immobility were investigated. Covey calls, alarm notes, pure tones, and quiet were imposed on birds during repeated tests of immobility. Covey calls led to significant decreases in durations of immobility as compared with the other conditions. Prior research showed that visual stimulation during immobility affected its duration; these results show that a biologically relevant auditory stimulus affects duration.

Two bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) and two Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were trained to peck a response key to obtain food. In general, performance on fixed ratio 20 and variable- and fixed-interval 60-sec schedules was comparable to the response patterns of other species under these schedules.

THE use of Bobwhite quail in genetic, nutritional and management research is well documented; however, very few references are available concerning the preparation and use of these birds for human food, (Crispens, 1960; Greenberg, 1949). Several methods for feather removal were mentioned by Greenberg (1949), including scalding at different temperatures, wax plucking and removal of feathers by hand. No research was cited to indicate which method was preferred. One method for processing Coturnix quail was discussed by Marsh (1967) in which he recommended that birds be held, the heads clipped off with some type of scissors, and the feathers “scraped” off after scalding at 148°F. He reported that “. . . if it (water) is much hotter or colder, feathers will not come off easily.” Greenberg (1949) reported that Bobwhite quail reach adult size at about 9–10 weeks, with sex not readily distinguishable. At 12–14 weeks of age…

To test the immunological prediction that there should be two amino acid sequence differences between the lysozymes of the bobwhite quail and the chicken, the sequences of these two lysozymes have now been compared. Lysozyme purified from bobwhite quail egg white was reduced, carboxymethylated, and digested with trypsin. The resulting 18 peptides were separated and their compositions determined. Four of them differed in composition from the corresponding chicken egg white lysozyme peptides. The compositional differences could be accounted for by four amino acid substitutions. The positions at which the substitutions relative to chicken lysozyme occur were found by analysis and sequential degradation of these four tryptic peptides to be serine for threonine40, valine for isoleucine55, lysine for arginine68, and threonine for serine91. It is remarkable that three of the four interchanges appear from the three-dimensional model of chicken lysozyme to have occurred at buried positions. The remaining interchange, lysine for arginine68, has occurred at an exposed position and in a region shown by others to bear an antigenic determinant. The implications of the bobwhite quail sequence information with respect to the sequence-immunology correlation, lysozyme evolution, and the phylogeny of phasianoid birds are discussed.

NORRIS (1935) reported that the bobwhite quail needed a 27 percent protein ration for the most rapid growth to eight weeks of age. Stadelman et al. (1945) found that the best results were obtained with a mixture running slightly over 28 percent crude protein. Favorable results were also obtained with 24 and 25 percent crude protein mixtures. Nestler et al. (1942) studied protein levels varying from 22 to 32 percent and reported that the 28 percent level gave the best general results. The mortality was high, ranging from 40 to 56 percent for the first 10 weeks. In later experiments by Nestler et al. (1944) the mortality to ten weeks was reduced to approximately 20 percent. Baldini et al. (1950) found that optimum growth was obtained on a 28 percent protein corn-soybean oil meal ration supplemented with minerals, vitamins, and methionine and reported that mortality ranged from zero to 9 …

ANTIBIOTICS are reported to improve the growth-promoting value of a chicken- or turkey-starter ration when the total protein level in the ration is below the level generally considered to be adequate for optimum growth (McGinnis, 1951; Bird et al., 1951; Machlin et al., 1952; and Biely et al., 1952). According to Baldini et al. (1953) Bobwhite quail grew as well on a ration containing 20 percent protein supplemented with aureomycin as they did on a 28 percent protein diet without aureomycin. Feed consumption and the efficiency of feed utilization, as obtained in these feeding tests, did not always point to a reduced protein requirement. The increase in chick growth obtained by Machlin et al. (1952) was accompanied by an increase in efficiency of feed utilization. These workers concluded that the protein requirement of the growing chick was reduced by the addition of aureomycin to the feed. In the case of …

STUDIES on the protein requirements of young Bobwhite quail by Norris (1935), Nestler et al. (1942), Stadelman et al. (1945) and Baldini et al. (1950), and of young Ringnecked pheasants by Callenbach and Hiller (1933), Norris et al. (1936) and Scott et al. (1954), showed that the usual corn-soybean oil meal practical diets must contain approximately 28 percent protein to support normal growth. Baldini et al. (1953) found that the protein requirement of young Bobwhite quail could be reduced to 20–24% when a practical corn-soybean oil meal diet was adequately supplemented with methionine and lysine. The experiments presented here were conducted to determine the minimum quantitative protein requirement of young Bobwhite quail and young Ringnecked pheasants fed practical rations containing supplemental methionine. EXPERIMENTAL The experiments were conducted at the Ithaca Game Farm of the New York State Conservation Department. The quail and pheasants were housed in wire pens on…

Rabbit antisera were prepared against seven different lysozymes purified from the egg whites of chicken, bobwhite quail, turkey, Japanese quail, ring-necked pheasant, and duck. Cross-reactivity tests by means of quantitative micro-complement fixation were conducted among all possible pairs of these lysozymes as well as with three other lysozymes. The amino acid sequences are known for five of the 10 proteins we examined. A correlation was observed between degree of immunological cross-reactivity and degree of amino acid sequence similarity, with the limitation that proteins differing from each other by 40% or more in sequence exhibited no cross-reactivity in micro-complement fixation tests. This relationship between sequence resemblance and immunological resemblance is compatible not only with the fact that amino acid replacements have generally occurred on the outer surface of the lysozyme molecule during bird evolution but also with current ideas about the size and number of antigenic determinants on proteins and with the idea that the conformation of the polypeptide backbone is strongly conserved during evolution. Cross-reactivity measurements are affected by several parameters that were investigated, including the length of the immunization program, variability among rabbits, and the degree to which the results of reciprocal tests agree. Antiserum specificity broadened with time and reached a plateau after several months of immunization. Considerable variability among rabbits necessitated pooling several sera in inverse proportion to their degree of reaction with the homologous antigen in order to obtain a more representative measurement. The results of reciprocal tests advise measuring cross-reactivity in both directions to better evaluate the degree of antigenic difference between two lysozymes.

IN earlier reports from this laboratory, Scott et al. have presented the results of studies on the various nutrient requirements of pheasants and quail, including requirements for protein, energy and methionine (1954a, 1963); calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D (1958a, b); niacin, riboflavin, choline, manganese and zinc (1959); sodium, chlorine and iodine (1960); and vitamin K (1961). In addition, studies have been conducted on the effects of antibiotics, arsenicals and thyroactive compounds upon growth and feathering in pheasant chicks (1954b), and the effect of diet on the ability of young pheasant chicks to withstand the stress of cold, drenching rain (1955). This report presents the results of studies on the pantothenic acid requirements of young Ringnecked pheasants and young Bobwhite quail, using a purified diet, and results showing that diets of practical feedstuffs (corn, fish meal, or combinations of these with soybean meal, brewers dried yeast, etc.), not only supply sufficient…

An attempt was made to imprint 18 Bobwhite Quail chicks 8–20 hours old to a Sparrow Hawk, using a Hess-type circular runway. Seven quail were strongly imprinted to this avian predator.

Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) were exposed to infection of fowl cholera by housing them in a pen where experimental epornitics of fowl cholera were in progress. These bobwhites subsequently were allowed to cohabit with susceptible turkeys. None of the turkeys developed fowl cholera thereby suggesting that the bobwhite is not a vector of fowl cholera.

The wintering land birds of a 25.4—km2 area centered at the Welder Wildlife Refuge is southern Texas ware subjected to systematic counting, and the counts were converted to absolute density values by applying an empirically derived conversion factor correcting for variable detectability and reducing the adjusted values to a common areal base. The vegetation was mapped, and seven vegetation types–two of grassland, three of brushland, and two of woodland and riverine forest–were recognized and defined in terms of measurements along prominent parameters of the vegetational physiognomy. The combined density for the 50 species constituting the land bird community was 918 individuals and 96 kg of avian biomass per km2 (371 individuals and 85 lb. per 100 acres). Discounting the heavy—bodied Wild Turkeys and Bobwhite Quail, there were 729 individuals and 33 kg per km2. Winter invaders outnumbered permanent residents in terms of species but had fewer individuals and a smaller biomass. Without the quail and turkey, there were more individual granivores than insectivores, but a smaller granivore biomass, both in the winter invader and the permanent resident categories. Winter invader granivores were primarily small—seed foragers. The number of species and the species diversity (H') were higher in the habitats containing trees and high shrubs than in open prairies; brushlands held an intermediate position. Densities and biomass were high in the wooded and open habitats and low in the brushlands. A measure of equitability reflecting the steepness of the species abundance curve in each habitat showed low values (steep curves) in the forest and scrubby prairie habitats. Winter invaders were relatively best represented in the woodlands and most poorly represented in the brushlands. In absolute numbers, however, they were highest in the forest. Insectivores were better represented in the brushlands than in either the prairies of wooded habitats. Each bird species showed a distinctive pattern of distribution through the seven habitats; some were highly eutytopic, appearing in all habitats; others were restricted to one or to. The Bobwhite Quail dominated (highest density) in all vegetation types except the forest were the Cardinal was a strong dominant. The top four species in each type comprised from 55% to 80% of the combined population of the type. An index of ecological amplitude gave values ranging from .00 in the Wild Turkey of the woodlands to .96 in the ubiquitous Robin. No correlations of ecological amplitude with migratory status or food habits were detected. An index of ecological overlap was derived for each two—species combination by summing the differences in representation of the two in the seven habitats and dividing this total by the maximum possible score achieved if the two species had identical ecological distributions. Values ranged from 1% (White—throated Sparrow x Savannah Sparrow) to 94% (Hermit Thrush x Ruby—crowned Kinglet). The amount of overlaps in the between—category dyads (summer—winter) was intermediate between the overlaps in the two intracategory dyads (summer—summer and winter—winter). A two—dimensional ordination depicting the intrinsic ecological distinctness of the commoner species in the community shows three clusters of points and a single isolate. The three clusters correspond to grassland, forest, and forest—brushland groups; the isolate is a stenotopic brushland species. Both permanent residents and winter invaders were well represented in each group.

Two experiments were designed to investigate the development of temperature regulation in Bobwhite quail. In experiment 1, eight groups of chicks were tested at 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 days of age. Body temperatures showed a curvilinear trend, increasing from 1 to 20 days and then decreasing to 30 days of age. Body temperature within some groups also increased with testing order of the chicks and this effect interacted with age. In experiment 2, one group of chicks was tested at each of the above ages. After determination of body temperature, each chick at each age was cooled for 30 minutes at 24° C. and its body temperature again recorded. The same curvilinear trend in body temperatures with age was evident in this group; however, an increase in body temperature with testing order only occurred at 5 days of age. When cooled, chicks showed a decrease in body temperature of approximately 9°C. at 1 day of age and were able to maintain body temperature by 30 days of age.

The pattern of fatty acid incorporation in yolk neutral and polar lipid fractions from two strains of quail have been reported. A significant strain effect was observed in the concentration of both stearic and oleic acids of the neutral lipids. No significant strain differences were detected in the fatty acid content of the polar lipids from the two strain of quail. The results obtained are in general agreement with those reported for the fatty acid content of chicken egg yolks.

STUDIES by DeWitt, Nestler and Derby (1949) on the calcium and phosphorus requirements of breeding Bobwhite quail indicated that for satisfactory condition of the breeders, egg production, fertility, hatchability and survival of offspring during the winter, the quail breeder ration should contain approximately 1.0 percent phosphorus and 2.3 percent calcium. In view of the relatively high requirements of breeding quail for these mineral elements, especially phosphorus, it was considered desirable to determine the phosphorus requirement of young, growing quail. The results of the study are presented in this report. EXPERIMENTAL The experiments were conducted at the Ithaca Game Farm of the New York State Conservation Department. During the starting period, the quail were housed in wire pens on litter. Infra-red lamps were used as the source of heat in each pen, the distance of the lamp from the floor being adjusted to maintain proper brooding temperatures. The birds appeared to . . .

INTRODUCTION FEW studies of the amino acid requirements of Japanese quail have been reported. Donaldson (1967) found the requirements for the total sulfur amino acid to be 0.78% in a practical diet containing 25% protein, the glycine requirement to be 1.28% in a purified diet containing 29% protein, and the lysine requirement was met at 1.35% of a practical diet containing 25% protein. Amino acid requirements of Bobwhite quail and Ringneck pheasants, members of the same family as Coturnix, have been reported; Baldini et al. (1953) suggested a lysine requirement for young Bobwhite quail of 1.3% of the diet when the protein level was 20–24%. Scott et al. (1963) showed the total sulfur amino acid requirements of Bobwhite quail and Ringneck pheasants to be 3.66% of the protein in a practical corn-soybean meal diet. Scott and Reynolds (1949) found in studies with pheasant chicks that the glycine requirement was…

Results of the 1st complete study of the life cycle of the chigger Neoschongastia Americana (Hirst) are reported. Laboratory rearings of the chiggers were conducted at 21, 27, and 32°C in total darkness and at 32°C in a light:darlc (L:D), 14:10 hour photoperiod. No development occurred past the nymphal stage at 21°C and no reproduction occurred in adults held in the L:D, 14:10 hour photoperiod. The developmental cycle was completed in 91 clays at 32°C (dark) and in 157 days at 27°C (dark). At 32°C, the average durations of the various stages were (in days) : egg 7.6, deutovum 7.1, nymphochrysalis 7.5, nymph 15.6, and imagochrysalis 7.5. The duration of the preoviposition period was 35–84 days at 32°C. The larvae fed upon bobwhite quail at room temperature in the laboratory for an average of 7.4 days and were then active for several days following detachment before entering the nymphochrysalid stage. The small, white nymphs were active, free living, and fed on Collembola in the laboratory. Some nymphs lived for extended periods and others completed this stage in as few as 6 days. Adults were able to live for long periods, some more than 8 months, and also fed on Collembola. The male of N. americana deposited stalked spermatophores about 70 microns long. The female apparently crawled over the spermatophore and used her genital plates to remove and engulf the sperm ball from the stalk of the spermatophore. After the preoviposition period, females deposited round eggs which averaged 160 microns in diameter. Each of several females deposited several hundred eggs during her life.

Lysozymes from 11 different sources were examined for their ability to react with the affinity label 2′,3′-epoxypropyl β-glycoside of di-(N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) and in some cases with the corresponding derivative of tri-(N-acetyl-D-glucosamine). Their fluorescence spectra, in the presence or absence of tri-(N-acetyl-D-glucosamine), and their transglycosylase activity were also examined. The results obtained suggest that these lysozymes can be classified into two groups: Group I includes the lysozymes derived from the egg-whites of bobwhite quail, chachalaca, duck, hen, Japanese quail, ring-necked pheasant and turkey, and from human leukemic urine; Group II includes the lysozymes from bacteriophage T4, goose egg-white and papaya latex. The lysozymes of group I are irreversibly inactivated by the epoxypropyl β-glycosides and exhibit similar fluorescence spectra which shift to the blue upon the addition of tri-(N-acetyl-D-glucosamine). Moreover, they catalyse the transfer of disaccharide residues from the bacterial cell wall tetra saccharide to N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, D-glucose, D-mannose and L-fucose, at rates which are similar for the different enzymes. It is concluded that the active sites of the enzymes of Group I are all similar, and that they differ from those of the other three lysozymes.

Amblyomma maculatum Koch was found in 18 counties of northeastern and south-central Oklahoma during 1972. Extreme annoyance to cattle was observed in the northeastern part of the State, where 80 adult ticks per animal were observed. Primary hosts of nymphal and larval Gulf Coast ticks were bobwhite quail, grasshopper sparrow, meadow lark, cotton rat, and deer mouse. Cattle were the primary hosts of the adult stage. Adult ticks occurred in greatest numbers on cattle, sweeps, and CO2-baited traps between late May and early July. Larvae were found on hosts in our study areas from mid-June to early September, and they reached peak numbers during early July; a reduced peak in larval numbers occurred in early August. Nymphs were found on their primary hosts between early July and early October, and numbers peaked during early August; a second reduced peak occurred during early September. Adult ticks were most abundant in persimmon-habitat types during late spring and summer 1972. Habitats with intermediate numbers of adults included buckbrush blackberry, lowland prairie, and sumac; the blackjack oak woods, and ravine and upland prairie habitats, had low numbers. Comparisons of 4 different breeds of cattle showed that Herefords had 5 times as many adult ticks per head as Brahman crosses. Appreciable differences between Angus and Hereford or Angus-Brahman crosses were not noted. Brahman calves had about one half as many ticks per animal as did the Hereford or Angus calves.

THE purpose of the experiments reported here was to test the therapeutic effects of streptomycin on the disease known as ulcerative enteritis or quail disease in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). The work was initiated by one of use (CMK) early in August, 1949 when young quail which were being raised for another experiment began dying with ulcerative enteritis. Since the quail were being reared on wire it was felt that practical sanitary conditions were in effect, and as a possible emergency control, streptomycin was given an exploratory test. Sixteen birds eight weeks of age were selected at random from an infected pen and injected subcutaneously twice daily with 5 mg. of streptomycin in water for 12½ days. Sixteen quail similarly selected from the same infected group were held as non-treated controls. At the end of fourteen days only two of the treated birds had died, these in the first two . . .

AN ABNORMAL growth of juvenal wing-feathers occurred in pen-reared Bobwhite quail at the age of two weeks on two experiments planned to determine the optimum level of dried milk products in a diet for growing quail. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The chicks were from pen-reared parent stock and had been hatched in an incubator during June 1942. For the first three weeks they were kept in electric battery brooders, 22.5 by 35.0 by 9.5 inches, and then transferred to field brooders for the following two weeks. Brooding temperature under the hover was maintained at 98°F. for the first week, and then reduced 5 degrees each week thereafter, until the heat was cut off during the fourth week. For the first experiment, 22 chicks were distributed into each of 16 brooder units; for the second experiment, 37 were placed in each of 16 units. They were supplied with feed, water, and grit. Eight . . .

A NUMBER of reports are available on the protein requirement of Bobwhite quail. Initially, a level of 27% dietary protein was suggested by Norris (1935) but other workers preferred a level of 28% protein (Nestler et al., 1942; Stadelman et al., 1945; Baldini et al., 1950). When the diet was adequately supplemented with lysine, Baldini et al. (1953) found that diets containing 20% protein supported the growth of Bobwhite quail satisfactorily. Scott et al. (1963) recommended diets containing 26.5% protein. As the interest in the study of Japanese quail (coturnix) developed, the maintenance of populations on diets containing about 28% crude protein was adopted (Woodard et al., 1965). Recent studies indicate that coturnix can be started on diets containing 25–26% protein (Weber and Reid, 1967; Vogt, 1967, 1969; Lepore and Marks, 1968; Svacha et al., 1970) and this level can be reduced to 20% after 3 weeks (Vogt, 1967;…

PAIR bond establishment in birds may be manifested through a variety of behavior patterns. Typically there is a tendency to remain in close proximity to a single individual while avoiding others. Often reproductive and protective behavior are restricted to that individual; aggressive behavior is usually directed only toward other conspecifics. Other behavioral adjustments may be an expression of pair formation as well. A previous study of Ringed Turtle Doves (Streptopelia risoria) (Erickson and Morris 1972) demonstrated that performance levels of two principal behavior patterns, bow-cooing, and nest soliciting, differed according to whether the male was displaying to an unfamiliar female or to a former mate. The functional significance of these behavior patterns is not positively known, but it was suggested that bow-cooing is effective in achieving reproductive isolation, and nest soliciting is important in establishing the pair at the nest site. It was found that much more bow-cooing was exhibited in the presence of unfamiliar females, while slightly more nest soliciting was displayed to former mates. Other investigators have reported such modifications in display and vocalization among mated pairs. Stettner et al. (1966) and Stettner et al. (1971) found more frequent aggression toward nonmates and greater frequency of copulation with mates in Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus). Mundinger (1970) discovered that paired male and female cardueline finches modify their calls to resemble one another. He found changes of this sort even in mixed-species pairs where Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) males were paired with European Siskin (Carduelis spinus) females. Perhaps most dramatic are the antiphonal duets that develop among pairs of several avian species. Such duets may be either very simple and occasional as occurs in the "hit-tuck" of the White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) (Kilham 1972) or as elaborate and extended as the flutelike, multiphrased expositions of the African bou-bou shrikes (Thorpe and North 1965). Although it is clear that pair formation may be reflected in modifications of social interaction with both mate and nonmate, as yet few investigators have systematically attempted to trace the development of such behavioral modifications. The present study was designed to follow the divergence in performance when animals are exposed to familiar and unfamiliar animals.

IN order to restore and increase bobwhite populations, artificial propagation and release is being practiced in many states. At the present time this procedure is difficult, inefficient, and costly. The work reported herein was directed toward the determination of rations and methods with which the bobwhite could be reared successfully and efficiently in captivity. Reports on quail reared in captivity by LeCompte (1931), Petty (1934), Bass (1937), and Nestler and Bailey (1941), state that it is possible to keep bobwhite quail chicks confined to battery brooders or similar enclosures for as long as four weeks, after which time they must be removed to holding pens if best results are to be obtained. Mac Namara (1933) stated that he allowed 0.52 to 0.58 square feet per bird and obtained favorable results to four weeks of age, when the birds were removed to rearing pens. He reported mortality at four weeks between . . .

Bobwhite quail infected with WEE virus produced viremias 20 and 32 hours post-inoculation with maximum virus titers of 103.0 TCID50/0.1 ml blood. Hemagglutination-inhibition antibody appeared in about a week, reached maximum titer in 3–6 weeks and disappeared from most birds after 12 weeks. Neutralizing antibody appeared 6 days after inoculation with an average log neutralization index of 2.7. These responses of quail are compared to those of other bird species and confirm the suitability of bobwhite for use as a sentinel animal to detect the transmission of WEE virus.

Habituation of the bobwhite quail's freezing response was studied using widely spaced (daily) trials. The releasing stimulus was a brief presentation of a live hawk which was obliged, by a rotating perch, to flap his wings. Habituation occurred, however, the initial increment in response commonly found with massed trials did not occur with daily trials. Thus, the facilitation of responding on the second stimulus presentation was attributed to temporary (e.g., emotional) factors elicited by the initial predator presentation. An attempt to dishabituate the freezing response was not successful.

INTRODUCTION THE wild populations of bobwhite quail have decreased greatly in number within recent years. This decrease has been general throughout the northern limits of the bobwhite’s range. Tremendous numbers of game farm reared quail have been released but with unsatisfactory survival results. It is possible that nutrition may have played a role in determining their survival. Vitamin A has been suggested as an important nutritional factor. The objectives of the investigations to be reported were: (1) to measure the relative values of provitamin A and true vitamin A in the diet, (2) to determine the optimum vitamin A content of the diet for growth, livability, liver storage of vitamin A, and survival under satisfactory and adverse conditions and, (3) to measure the relationship between vitamin A liver storage and survival under satisfactory and adverse conditions. REVIEW OF LITERATURE An excellent review of the literature on the nutrition of bobwhite . . .

Host-parasite relationships and seasonal dynamics of 3 species of ticks infesting birds or rabbits or both at 2 localities in the Piedmont area of Virginia and North Carolina are described. Cottontail rabbits represented the dominant host for the immatures of Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Packard) and Ixodes dentatus Marx in Virginia, where both rabbits and birds were examined. Bobwhite quail were almost as important as rabbits as hosts for immatures of H. leporispalustris , but not for immatures of I. dentatus. Other important bird hosts for the immatures of these 2 tick species included members of the Fringillidae, Mimidae, Troglodytidae, Turdidae, and Parulidae. Ixodes brunneus Koch was found primarily on the Slate-colored Junco, Cardinal, and White-throated Sparrow between November and April. Tick burdens on birds at the 2 Piedmont localities were similar, but were substantially lower than the burdens reported in other areas of the United States. Host-seeking activity by immatures of the 2 bird-rabbit ticks was bimodal, with peak activity in late summer or fall (dominant period) and again in winter or early spring. In the fall, host-seeking activity by I. dentatus immatures occurred 1 or 2 months later than host seeking by immatures of H. leporispalustris.

Several authors have studied the effects of aggregati on upon various physiological processes. Most of the previous work has l)een done on invertel)rates avid p)oikilotherluic vertebrates. Only limited stu(lies have l)een made on warml)looded animals, p)articularly on small rodents. The experiments of Vetulani (1931) have demonstrate(l that the postweaning growth of laboratory mice, as indicated by weight increase, is influenced b)v the number of animals in the cage. He found that the weight gain of male mice, kept 2 to 4 per cage, was 17.98 percent higher than the gain of mice kept 1 animal per cage; the weight increase of animals kept 9 to 12 per cage was 8.14 l)ercent more than that of those kept 1 to a cage. These studies were repeated by Retzlaff 1939), who confirmed the findings of Vettulani au(l came to the conclusion that environmental teml)erature is the main factor causing the dlifference in Nveight gain in various population samples. Trhe failure of females to show the same growth response as males, which was observed by both authors, was assigned to pectuliarities in female 1)pvxsiolo-y. (erstell ( 1939) in several experiments has demonstrated that huddling, which tends to conserve body heat, is an important factor in the survival of the bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus virginiai lits) at low aml)ient temperatures. Sealander (1952) has studied the effect of huddling on the survival of Peromnyscus kept at a low temnperattlre without food and water. He found that the survival time of mice exposed to a mean temnperatutre of -230C was prolonged in groups with 2 to 4 animals per cage, as compared with indivi(lually caged animals. The study of King and Connon (1955) on the effect of social relationships upon mortality in young C57L/ 10 mice has shown that the stirvival of two-week-old animals weighing 7 grams or less (lel)ends significantly on proper thermal con(litions which may he supl)lie(l by other indivi(luals as they huddle together. The relationship between crowding and food consuml)tion has been studied by only a few investicators. It has been demonstrated by Adolph (1931), that crowded tadpoles consumed less food per animal than isolated individuals. Also the growth rate of the crowded animals was decreased. Kalabtuchov (1933, cited by Allee, 1934) has found that individually kept honey-bees eat more T rhis work w-as supported in part by an Institutional Grant from the American Cancer Society, Intc.

THE beneficial effects of antibiotics and vitamin B12 supplements in all-vegetable starting rations for chickens are well known. Berry et al. (1945) and Mishler et al. (1948) demonstrated the supplementary action of condensed fish solubles in soybean oil meal rations for chickens and attributed the effects to unidentified factors. One of these factors has been shown to be vitamin B12 by Ott et al. (1948) and Nichol et al. (1949) in their reports that crystalline vitamin B12 would replace the animal protein factor activity of crude sources of vitamin B12, one of which is condensed fish solubles. Factors other than vitamin B12 were soon recognized as being present in these crude sources of vitamin B12 (Carlson et al. 1949; and Stokstad et al. 1949). These included, among others, antibiotics and an unknown growth factor believed to be present in condensed fish solubles. That vitamin B12 bears some relation to protein …

INTRODUCTION WINTER losses of bobwhite quail throughout the northern portion of the species’ range still present a problem to the numerous organizations and individuals interested in sound wildlife management. In an attempt to compensate for such losses in the wild quail population, large numbers of game farm reared birds have been released, but with little success. The winter losses may occur in two ways; first, as the result of long periods of unusual cold combined with food shortages causing loss in body weight and vitality and culminating in death by various means; second, due to the effect of certain unusual meteorological combinations which may bring death to apparently healthy bobwhites. Large scale propagation and release of game farm reared birds have resulted in the introduction of birds foreign to the general region of their release. Use of the foreign birds for propagation purposes has been partially blamed for the poor . . .

Synopsis The effect of light during incubation on embryonic and post‐embryonic development of White Leghorn chickens and Northern Bobwhite quail was determined. The treatments were: (a) 12 h light followed by 12 h dark (12L—12D), (b) 24 h light (24L—0D) and (c) 24 h dark (0L—24D) per day throughout incubation. The development of the embryos of both species was accelerated by increasing the length of exposure to light during incubation. There were no differences in hatchability, weight at hatching, or at 4, 8, 12, 16 or 20 weeks of age. The incidence of healed navels was increased with greater length of exposure to light during incubation. No differences in egg production due to treatment were detected.

IT HAS been known for a long time that estrogens play an important role in calcium metabolism in the bird. Due to the enormous amount of calcium excreted during the period of egg shell formation it is likely that the hen requires a special mechanism to control calcium balance at that time. Riddle and Reinhart (1926) showed that the blood calcium rises in the pigeon prior to egg shell formation and is maintained until shell formation is completed. Similarly a hypercalcemia has been shown in the laying hen (Parhon, 1926; Hughes, Titus and Smits, 1927). Treatment with estrogens causes a marked rise in the blood calcium of the pigeon (Riddle and Dotti, 1936; Pfeiffer and Gardner, 1938), the chicken (Altman and Hutt, 1938; Zondek and Marx, 1939; Landauer et al., 1939) the duck (Landauer et al., 1941) and the sparrow (Pfeiffer et al., 1940). Similar results are obtained in the . . .

An experiment was carried out to test the hypothesis that the synchronization of hatching which occurs in the bobwhite quail is to some extent at least produced by the development of retarded embryos being accelerated by contact with more advanced members of the clutch. Nine clutches of eggs hatched with no more than 6 hours between the earliest and latest chick to emerge from the shell, in spite of the fact that one egg in each clutch had been placed in the incubator 24 hours late. Analysis of the results suggests that the time of pipping appeared to be unaffected by the clutch and the greatest amount of acceleration was produced when the eggs first began to “click”. but that the beginning of hatching was also brought forward in the delayed eggs.

Xenoplastic eye exchanges were made between domestic chick and Bobwhite quail embryos, using microsurgical techniques at early stage 11. Donor (quail) eyes were found to be incorporated in 78% of the operations, and it was suggested that an optimal period (late stage 10 - early stage 11, approximately 10.3 somites) exists, during which transplantation of these organs may be maximally successful. The majority of the transplanted eyes appeared normal, and histological examination revealed normally decussating and ingrowing optic nerves which formed normal appearing optic tracts and found terminations within the contralateral tecta. Inspection of donor retinae and the isthmo-optic nuclei contralateral to the transplant, both known to undergo cellular degeneration in the absence of their appropriate projection fields, showed normal cellular complements and organization in most cases. Functional capacities of the transplanted eyes were assessed by viewing the pupillary light reflex. This test indicated that functional connections were made, at least as far as mesencephalic centers, with the latencies of and threshold intensities for elicitation of the reflex virtually identical in normal and transplanted eyes. The latencies of the reflex virtually identical in normal and transplanted eyes. The latencies of the donor (quail) eyes were considerably shorter than those usually found in these embryos at the age viewed. Some form of host induction of precocial responsiveness is discussed in this connection.

THE Bobwhite quail is a useful avian species for research due to its adaptability to life in confinement and its identity as a wild species. Although much information is available concerning this species, only two published reports could be found describing the hematology of Bobwhite quail. Nice et al. (1935) reported a mean erythrocyte count of 3.5 mill./mm3. in a group of three female Bobwhite quail. Bond and Gilbert (1958) reported a mean packed cell volume of 38% with a mean erythrocyte count of 3.4 mill./mm3. in a group of four quail. This report describes the packed cell volume and differential leucocyte count of Bobwhite quail from 15 hours post-hatching to 50 weeks of age. MATERIALS AND METHODS Except for data collected at 15 hours and at one week post-hatching, all measurements herein reported were made on 24 Bobwhite quail chicks (17 females and 7 males). The birds were reared…