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Introduction: Birds are involved natural cycle of a number of vector-borne viruses in both rural and urban areas. Toscana (TOSV) and Sicilian (SFSV) phleboviruses are sandfly-borne viruses in the genus Phlebovirus that can cause diseases in human. However, there is limited information on the role of the birds in sandfly-borne phleboviruses natural cycle and reservoirs ofthese viruses remain unknown. Methods: In this study, we analyzed Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) sera from Spain to identify the seroprevalence of these two phleboviruses. We tested respectively, 106 and 110 quail serum against TOSV and SFSV from 2018, 2019, and 2021 from two locations in northern Spain with using virus neutralization test. Results: We identified high neutralizing antibody rates for SFSV (45.45%) and TOSV (42.45%) with yearly fluctuation. Discussion: This is the first identification of SFSV and TOSV neutralizing antibodies in wild birds. High seroprevalence rates of TOSV and SFSV in quail birds raises the question whether birds have a role as amplifying hosts in the natural cycle of phleboviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species' distribution models are widely used in landscape ecology but usually lack explicit information about species' responses to ecosystem dynamics, leading to uncertainty when applied to the prediction of seasonal change in distributions. In this study, we aimed to build a species' distribution model for the Common Quail Coturnix coturnix, a farmland species that shows changes in its distribution in response to seasonal changes in habitat suitability. During the course of three breeding seasons we collected temporal replicates of presence-absence data in 13 sampling locations in four countries ( Morocco, Portugal, Spain and France). We used generalized linear mixed models to relate the species' presence or absence to environmental variables and to the normalized difference vegetation index at each sampling location through the seasons, the latter variable being an indicator of within- and between-season habitat changes. The preferred model showed that occurrence was highly dependent on habitat changes associated with crop seasonality, as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index. Common Quail selected areas with dense vegetation and warm climate and tracked spatial changes in these two parameters. The model allows accurate mapping of within- and between-season distribution changes. Such changes are related to habitat variations caused mainly by drought and agricultural practices. Our results demonstrate that seasonal changes in farmland ecosystems can be incorporated into a simple distribution model, and our approach could be applied to other species to predict the effects of agricultural changes on the distribution of birds inhabiting farmland landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Information on the movements of bird populations in extensive landscapes is needed to assess environmental effects and conservation strategies over appropriate temporal and spatial scales. The common quail ( Coturnix coturnix) is a game bird that breeds mainly in dense cereal crops. These crops cover huge areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The aim of this work is to relate cereal mowing, which causes rapid and massive habitat loss for the common quail, to population movements of the species during its breeding season. Location Spain, southern Europe. Methods We used ring recoveries to analyse, using circular statistics, the orientation of movements by male common quails in the northern half of Spain. Forward stepwise multiple regressions were applied to correlate (1) the Julian day of cereal harvesting at 770 locations with the respective latitude, longitude and elevation, and (2) the number of hunted birds with hunting pressure, breeding densities and mean mowing date by province. Finally, data concerning the number of quails hunted at the end of the breeding season were compared by province and year using two-way ANOVA. Results Our results show that during the breeding season in the northern half of Spain, male quails orient their movements towards higher areas, and mainly to the northern Castilian Plateau. These are the areas of Spain where cereals are harvested latest. Moreover, records show that the number of quails hunted is significantly higher in these areas than in other areas of the country, independently of hunting pressure and breeding densities, and it is extremely high in the northern Castilian Plateau. Main conclusions Cereal mowing combined with some Spanish geographical characteristics acts as a funnel, forcing quail populations to concentrate in certain areas of Spain at the end of the breeding season. This implies that the number of quails hunted in these areas may be high, and that they therefore constitute priority conservation areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural populations of the common quail Coturnix coturnix may hybridize in the wild with non-native individuals (Japanese quail Coturnix japonica or hybrids) as a result of restocking for hunting purposes. Several laboratory studies suggest that this could lead to a decline in the impulse to migrate in the common quail, and a drop in the frequency of phenotypes showing this tendency. This could lead to an increase in common quail populations in North Africa and a decrease in Europe. This paper provides new data on the proportion of hybrids in Catalonia (Northeast Spain) over 24 years (1983–2006) showing how restocking with Japanese quail or hybrids affects native populations of common quail. The first hybrids were detected in 1990 with an estimate of 4. 65% of non-native individuals during the breeding season of wild common quail populations. No increase in non-native or hybrid numbers was detected during the study period, indicating that restocking poses no serious conservation problems at present. However, this may change in the near future, either with or without changes in the current scenario. A prudent policy with regard to restocking with non-native individuals is suggested. Moreover, further studies are needed to clarify the extent of this conservation problem. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]