Explore the vast range of titles available.

We examined 305 pheasants from six flocks as well as 70 other birds belonging to 14 species and 97 other vertebrates caught in a closed area. We also investigated the prevalence of mycobacteria in non-vertebrates (earthworms) and soil in two pheasant flocks. Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (M. a. avium) was isolated in four flocks from 17 pheasants. In one M. a. avium-infected pheasant co-infection with M. a. hominissuis was diagnosed. Granulomatous inflammatory lesions were observed in liver and spleen in only four M. a. avium-infected pheasants originating from two flocks. From the other 38 pheasants other mycobacterial species were isolated, such as M. fortuitum, M. terrae, M. triviale, M. chelonae, M. scrofulaceum, M. smegmatis, M. flavescens, M. diernhoferi and non-identifiable mycobacterial species. In the group of 70 birds of other species, we identified M. a. avium in two (2.9%) goshawks (Accipiter gentilis). We did not isolate M. a. avium from any of the other 97 vertebrates, the 391 environmental samples or 97 earthworms.

Amino acid composition of the meats of wild and farm pheasants were compared. The following amino acids were determined: Asp, Thr, Ser, Glu, Pro, Gly, Ala, Val, Ile, Leu, Tyr, Phe, His, Lys, Arg. An improved amino acid profile was found in the breast muscle of pheasants kept at the farm in comparison with that of wild pheasants.

Pheasants are competent reservoir hosts for the Lyme disease spirochaete, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., and carry large, but highly over-dispersed, infestations of the vector ticks, Ixodes ricinus. The effects of experimental reduction of tick infestation levels on the survival and territorial behaviour of male pheasants were studied. Over three years in two woodlands in southern England, birds were marked individually and half were fitted with a slow-release acaricide, which substantially reduced their tick burdens from March to August. Acaricide treatment affected reproductive success but had no discernible impact on the survival rates of male pheasants. The degree of wattle inflation by males, an indicator of territorial status and a correlate of harem acquisition, was significantly greater among treated males. In each year, a significantly higher proportion of treated (overall 44%) than control (22%) males acquired harems. Males that acquired females ranged over small areas on field edges. By contrast, those with no females ranged more widely in woods and the adjoining fields, increasing their exposure to questing ticks. The relative contribution of such roving males to tick-borne pathogen transmission may thus increase.

Populations of many common grassland birds in the midwestern United States have been declining in recent decades. These declines have been particularly pronounced in Illinois, where the prairie has been severely fragmented and disturbed by farming. This article describes transitions in agricultural land use in Illinois since the early 1800s, their effects on grassland habitat, and responses by avifauna. Furthermore, factors affecting nesting by birds are considered from a landscape perspective for a study area in central Illinois during the period (1973-1981) when cropping became so intensive that grassland persisted primarily as linear edges. There was a paucity of avifauna nesting on grassy edge habitats on the study area, with a mean of 2.2 nests per ha, representing only eight species. Nest densities and species diversity were highest on study plots where grassland was nearby, where cover types were heterogeneous, and where there were corridors connecting plots to the surrounding landscape. Nest success was variable from year to year, and for Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) the average annual nest success on edge habitats was positively related to the total amount of grassy cover (including hay and small grains) per nesting pheasant. The findings suggest that it is too simplistic to conclude that linear habitats, compared to field settings, are \"predator traps.\" Responses by birds to habitat deterioration in Illinois may foretell future trends elsewhere in North America where farming practices are becoming more intensive.

Management of ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in agricultural landscapes would be enhanced by knowledge of the relation between survival and habitat composition and configuration. We related survival and habitat use of hen pheasants during spring in Iowa with landscape characteristics in an area of high habitat diversity with 25.0% grassland and an area of low habitat diversity with 9.3% grassland. Survival of 215 radiomarked hens from 1 April to 3 June 1992-94 averaged 0.81 and did not differ between areas (P = 0.756). Predation was the cause of death in 87.5% of the cases, with 66.7% of all deaths attributed to mammals, especially red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Home ranges of 57 hens averaged 36.6 ha in the high diversity area and 47.7 ha in the low diversity area and did not differ between areas (P = 0.603). Density of edge between grassland and other habitats was predictive of the hazard rate, and the odds of mortality increased 2% for every 10 m/ha of additional edge in the home range. Hens with home ranges characterized by small patches of grassland within the cropland matrix survived as well as those with large blocks of grassland in their home range. Understanding how changes in composition and configuration of landscapes affects wildlife demographics at multiple scales can improve managers' ability to take advantage of agricultural conservation programs.

In Great Britain, the captive rearing and release of ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) during summer to supplement wild stocks for shooting is widespread, but breeding success of surviving females the following spring is poor. We hypothesized that reduced body condition as caused by low availability of natural food during spring and cessation of supplemental feeding in late winter may affect subsequent breeding success. On an estate in southern England, we provided wheat grain on 3 1-km2plots from March to June, while pheasants on 3 other 1-km2plots foraged solely on natural foods. We switched treatments during the second year. We collected hen pheasants from each plot during February and April. Fat reserves of hen pheasants collected in April from food-supplemented plots were maintained at their February levels (76.9 ± 8.0 g; x̄ ± SE), but fat reserves of birds collected from unsupplemented plots were reduced by >50% of their February levels (34.7 ± 6.9 g; P = 0.01). Body mass, muscle sizes, ceca, and small intestine length were more affected by date than supplemental feeding. We suggest that low food availability and poor spring diet as a result of modern agriculture may affect hen body condition and productivity of pheasants in Great Britain.

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is frequently recovered from surveillance samples collected by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service personnel in live bird markets. Six NDV isolates, five from chickens and one from a pheasant, were characterized for comparison with reference NDV isolates from poultry and other birds. All isolates tested were of low virulence for chickens. Four of the six isolates were similar to reference lentogens B1 and La Sota, but two isolates, one from a chicken and one from a pheasant, were different. The aberrant chicken isolate had a monoclonal antibody-binding profile like an unusual Canadian pigeon isolate. Sequence analysis of the matrix gene of this isolate demonstrated that it differed from all isolates included in the comparison and therefore may represent a third phylogenetic NDV group. The pheasant isolate had a monoclonal antibody-binding profile typical of other U.S. NDV lentogens but had a matrix gene sequence and hemagglutinin thermostability similar to strains Ulster and Queensland V4 (QV4), viruses originally isolated in Northern Ireland and Australia, respectively. The pheasant virus is the first lentogen isolated in the United States known to be closely related phylogenetically to Ulster and QV4. The unusual chicken and pheasant isolates were readily shed from the intestinal tract during chicken passage, whereas the other isolates were shed from the respiratory tract with little or no intestinal shedding. The frequency in live bird markets of viruses similar to those previously thought to be exotic to the United States is unknown

Blackbird (Icterinae) damage to sunflowers in the northern Great Plains can be locally severe. One approach to alleviating depredation pressure is to reduce blackbird populations through application of brown rice bait treated with the avicide DRC-1339. Because such baiting can potentially affect nontarget species, we conducted pen and field trials to evaluate the potential risk from avicide baiting to ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus). Although most female pheasants in pen tests preferred cracked corn and sorghum, 2 of 12 birds preferred brown rice. In 4-day trials within a 0.2-ha flight pen, pheasant consumption of brown rice from bait swaths simulating field bait applications was not affected by the presence of an alternate bait swath of cracked corn. Pen trials to evaluate possible avoidance responses following a sublethal dose of DRC-1339 showed that 2 of 7 birds shifted from their previously preferred feeding sites following exposure to the avicide. During March and April 1995, we recorded pheasant numbers in 6 pairs of 0.8-ha plots in corn stubble fields that were either baited with brown rice or were designated as reference plots. Overall, use of test plots was low, but at the most heavily used sites, pheasants visited reference plots more than baited plots (P = 0.004). We conclude that (1) pheasants will eat brown rice treated with DRC-1339; and (2) although chances of exposure to an acute lethal dose can be reduced by increasing the dilution, harmful repeated doses could be obtained because avoidance of feeding sites, following sublethal exposure, cannot be assumed.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection was diagnosed in a group of chukar partridges, pheasants, and peafowl based on serology and isolation techniques. The farm also had quail, chickens, and ducks. Clinical signs in growing birds consisted of foamy eyes, swollen infraorbital sinuses, respiratory distress, and death. Breeding birds experienced a severe drop in egg production. Histologically, the growing birds exhibited lymphoplasmacytic inflammation of the conjunctiva, sinus, and trachea. The most likely source of infection was either chickens, which had been introduced before the onset of clinical signs, or the chukar partridge breeders, which had been obtained at various hunting field trials

  If you have that information, you can get treatment,\" said the former clinical social worker and AIDS activist who now is dedicated to caring for his partner, Carlos Faisan, 59, whose HIV infection has become full-blown AIDS. \"And let other people know so you don't spread the virus to anyone else.\" This is a great opportunity,\" said Patrick Johnson, administrator at the Flagler Health Department, of the rapid test event. \"It's free and quick.\" They use it for diagnosis such as the case of a pregnant mother,\" said Bill Drahos, human service program specialist at the Volusia County Health Department. \"If she tests positive, they can take immediate steps to stop the (virus') transmission to the baby.\"