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This study investigated the habitat selection of the Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) during the breeding season of 2014 in an intensively managed agricultural environment (LAJTA Project, North-West Hungary). In order to assess the habitat preferences of the Common Quail, habitat composition around occupied plots were compared with unoccupied control plots. To characterize the habitat, a total of 11 variables related to vegetation structure and diversity, food availability and landscape were quantified. Multivariate methods (PCA and GLMs) were used to distinguish the main factors influencing habitat selection and to model the presence of the Common Quail. Based on our results, in the LAJTA Project, high probability of Common Quail presence can be predicted in plots with higher herbaceous cover and more abundant arthropod communities. The network of ecotone habitats, particularly the proximity to woody habitats, also appeared to have significant importance during the breeding season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the detection of a novel picornavirus in domesticated common quail ( Coturnix coturnix) in Hungary. The 8159-nucleotide (nt)-long RNA genome of this virus, named quail picornavirus (QPV1-HUN/2010; JN674502), shows only 43%, 39% and 47% amino acid (aa) identity in the P1 (857 aa), P2 (458 aa) and P3 (777 aa) coding regions respectively, to the closest reference, avian sapelovirus. The 5′UTR contains a variant type IV IRES with a 20-nt-long apical '8'-like structure that is conserved in avian-origin and seal picornaviruses. The 390-aa-long L protein is cysteine rich and encodes two copies of a 34-aa-long repeat motif. Quail picornavirus represents a novel picornavirus species and perhaps a novel genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]