Northeastern Naturalist 116 R.D. Applegate, S.E. Hayslette, B.A. Robinson, C.M. Rhoden, and J.J. Morgan 22001199 NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST 2V6(o1l.) :2161,6 N–1o1. 81 First Documentation of Feather Fault Bars in the Northern Bobwhite Roger D. Applegate1,*, Steven E. Hayslette1, Ben A. Robinson2, Cody M. Rhoden2, and John J. Morgan2 Abstract- We examined 318 Colinus virginianus (Northern Bobwhite) wings from 27 Kentucky counties for fault bars. Fault bars are areas in flight feathers that lack pigment due to exposure to stressors. We detected fault bars on 38 (11.9%) wings (representing individual Northern Bobwhites) from 14 Kentucky counties; fault bars were most prevalent in juveniles. Fault bars have been documented on Phasianus colchicus (Ring-Necked Pheasant) and many species of passerine and raptorial birds, but this is the first report for the Northern Bobwhite. Examination of wings for fault bars could provide a new method for assessing stress in Northern Bobwhite populations and be useful to evaluate translocations or to select donor populations for translocation. Introduction Wildlife managers often collect wings from hunter-harvested Colinus virginianus L. (Northern Bobwhite; hereafter, Bobwhite) to measure age ratios of the harvested population and to determine nesting chronology for estimating productivity (Bellrose et al. 1961, Hanson 1963). However, fault bars in wings have great potential for assessing stress in populations (Erritzoe 2006), and bars in hunterharvested Bobwhites could offer an opportunity to assess stress. Fault bars are areas in flight feathers that lack pigment due to exposure to stressors and generally occur on 1 or more feather vanes extending from the edge to the feather shaft (Erritzoe 2006). In some cases, the unpigmented area is only a portion of the vane and is referred to as a fault spot (Erritzoe 2006). Fault bars have been well-documented in a variety of raptor species such as Pandion haliaetus L. (Osprey) and Falco sparverius L. (American Kestrel) and passerine species (Machmer et al. 1992, Negro et al. 1994). In the galliform birds, fault bars have been reported only in Phasianus colchicus L. (Ring-Necked Pheasant) (Erritzoe 2006, Solomon and Linder 1978). Fault bars have not been reported in the Bobwhite. Methods In Kentucky, prepaid collection envelopes are provided to Bobwhite hunters prior to each hunting season. Hunters are instructed to remove 1 wing from each bird harvested, place the wing in the envelope, and mail it to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. On the envelope, the hunter records the sex of the 1Department of Biology, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505. 2Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Frankfort, KY 40601. *Corresponding author - Roger.Applegate@tn.gov. Manuscript Editor: Daniel Keppie Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 26, No. 1 R.D. Applegate, S.E. Hayslette, B.A. Robinson, C.M. Rhoden, and J.J. Morgan 2019 117 bird, the county where the bird was harvested, and the date on which the hunt took place. Participation in the survey is voluntary, and hunters receive a small gift for completing the survey. We used the characteristics outlined in Petrides (1942), Petrides and Nestler (1943), and Rosene (1969) to assign an age to each submitted wing. For this study, we placed all wings on a light table and used a magnifier to examine the dorsal and ventral surfaces of each wing to detect fault bars, which appeared as very narrow transparent bands or small transparent spots, as described in Erritzoe (2006). In this paper, we use the term bars to include spots. Results We received 318 wings from Bobwhites harvested in 27 Kentucky counties in 2014, 2015, and 2016. We detected fault bars on 38 (11.9%) of the wings examined— 10 wings in 2014, 4 wings in 2015, and 24 wings in 2016 (Fig. 1) from 14 Kentucky counties. We determined sex and age for 36 wings. We found fault bars in 6% of adult males, 56% of juvenile males, 6% of adult females, and 32% of juvenile females. Discussion Our discovery of fault bars on wings of Northern Bobwhites suggests it would be worthwhile for managers to consider searching for fault bars, which are important indicators of stress in birds. Stressors are believed to include internal and/or external factors that occur during feather growth, including nutrition (Jovani et al. 2014). Machmer et al. (1992) found a relationship between handling of Osprey nestlings and the number of fault bars. Physiological stress as a result of a Campylobacter jejuni bacterium infection was related to fault-bar formation in Columba livia Gmelin (Rock Dove; Jovani et al. 2014). Jovani et al. (2014) also found that fault bars were more numerous in young versus adult pigeons. Fault bars in Ring-Necked Pheasants were attributed to limited food intake and crowding (Solomon and Linder 1978), Figure 1. Location of sampled Kentucky counties and counties where fault bars were found on Bobwhite wings for the 2014–2016 hunting seasons. Wings were submitted to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Northeastern Naturalist 118 R.D. Applegate, S.E. Hayslette, B.A. Robinson, C.M. Rhoden, and J.J. Morgan 2019 Vol. 26, No. 1 and Negro et al. (1994) attributed fault bars in American Kestrels to handling by researchers and lack of food. The linkage between fault bars and stress needs to be studied. If fault bars occur regularly in Bobwhites, they can be a useful index to stress in populations that may be addressed with habitat management. Importantly, assessing stress can be a critical factor in selecting donor Bobwhite populations for translocation or for monitoring the health of a translocated population (Martin et al. 2017). Future research should consider the amount and type of a stressor needed to induce fault bars, how fault bars relate to other physiological measures, and how these effects relate to population vital rates. It is also conceivable that fault bars occur on any feather of Bobwhites, but have not been reported because other feathers (e.g., rectrices) are typically not examined. Acknowledgments We thank the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for providing wings. This research was supported in part by the Tennessee Tech University Department of Biology and School of Environmental Studies and from the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act and personal funds of the first author. Literature Cited Bellrose, F.C., T.G. Scott, A.S. Hawkins, and J.B. Low. 1961. 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