Search

There have been, over the years, conflicting statements by various authors regarding the altitude at which Quail Coturnix coturnix migrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Adjustments of global and local hindlimb properties during the terrestrial locomotion of the common quail (Coturnix coturnix)" published in a previous issue of the journal is presented.

A correction to an article about the Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix, that was published in the September 2009 issue is presented.

The article reports on the discovery of a leg bearing a Belgian ring beneath a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus nest on the church in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England on July 1, 2009. The discovery was initially rejected by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), but it was confirmed by the Belgian Ringing Scheme. The remains were identified as those of a Common Quail Coturnix coturnix.

The article reports on the self-imposed ban announced by Malta Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on spring hunting of Common Quails, Coturnix coturnix, and Turtle Doves, Streptopelia turtur. He prohibited spring hunting activities while the case against the country is still with the European Court of Justice. Groups such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife Malta have been working to stop illegal hunting in the country.

Chlorpyriphos (13 mg/kg) was administered to quail (Coturnix coturnix), and the responses of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and plasmacholinesterase (ChE) were studied. Both enzymes responded rapidly, and the maximal inhibition (76.6 and 80.1%, respectively) occurred 8 hpostadministration. Plasma ChE recovered rapidly, and even on day 4,ChE values of quail that had received chlorpyriphos were higher thanthose of controls. The recovery of brain AChE activity was slower than that of plasma; it reached 59% of controls 2 d after chlorpyriphosadministration, then it recovered slowly, and only at day 11 was itslevel not depressed with respect to controls. This recovery followedthe logarithmic pattern Y= a + b(log X), where Y is the AChE activity expressed as the percentage with respect to controls and X is the day after closing, giving a significant correlation (r = 0.9746, p< 0.001 when using group means and r = 0.9219, p < 0.001 when using individual values). No clinical signs or mortality were observed, and histopathological observations in the central nervous system (encephalytic reaction, necrotic Purkinje cells), liver (congestion, vacuolation), and kidney (congestion, nephrosis) were not severe and did not endanger the life of the quail. Sixteen hours after chlorpyriphos administration, some quail were treated with pralidoxime, which significantly reactivated brain AChE but not plasma ChE. However, this effect didnot last for the rest of the experiment; because no signs of toxicosis appeared, the experiment was not repeated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]