A study on roosts and roosting habits of Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) was carried out in different roosting sites of Central Punjab. Roosts, located close to the croplands and orchard farms, evinced different movement patterns of parakeets throughout the day. Parakeets spent nights in their roosts, where they gathered in large numbers at dusk and vacated them at dawn.

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Present paper provides information on the feeding regimens of the two genders of the blue-rock pigeon (Columba livia Linn.) in the sampled habitats of the three districts viz. Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur of the Punjab province, Pakistan. This feral pigeon, considered ubiquitous species, inhabits both the grasslands and clumped environments to establish their roosts and nests. The study explored about comparable feeding proportions from three major habitats of the pigeons which were captured with medium sized mist-nets. For Rawalpindi in the winter season, the Zea mays was one of the predominant food item (30.6%) for males, and other ranked major food contents were (26.7%, 22.4% and 20.2%), and fairly similar feeding proportions were also recorded for the females (50.4%, 33.3%, 36.4% and 23.9%) for Carthamus oxyacantha, Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum and Zea mays respectively. Evidently, no significant deviations in the existing food crops for the three sites for the feral pigeon were detected, which strongly suggested that the, modes of feeding habits among the sustainable roosts and nests which were closely located to food crops, exerted negligible impacts during intermittent pigeon foraging movements in the diurnal conditions.

Avian trichomonosis is an architypal disease of wild columbids and those birds that predate them. Increasingly though, it has been reported in passerines; a recent and ongoing epidemic in the chaffinches and greenfinches of Europe and outbreaks amongst house finches, American goldfinches and purple finches in North America. The parasite, Trichomonas gallinae, causes lesions in the upper respiratory tract which can cause mortality associated with dehydration and emaciation. This paper reports for the first time, the widespread, endemic and often asymptomatic infection of common mynah (Acridotheres tristis) around the Faisalabad District, Pakistan. Parasite typing was used to investigate the potential for transmission among the frequently sympatric species. Type C parasites were found in mynah, and while this is analagous to the pandemic finch strain which is Type A, it is the first known example of passerine infections of this parasite genotype. Subtype analysis showed the strain to be C4 a subtype which has a widespread distribution in columbids.

Metal content, Metallotionein and physiological condition (RNA/DNA ratio) were analyzed in Cachama, Colossoma macropomum from the Orinoco River. Juvenile samples were dissected and one gram of white muscle gills, kidney and liver was taken. Cu, Cd, Pb, Ni and Fe were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer using TORT and LUTSI as reference material. Metallothioneins were determined with Ellman´s reagent and RNA/DNA ratio was analyzed by fluorometric method. Results showed that Cd, Cu, Ni, Fe, and Pb levels were significantly higher in liver than muscle. There was no difference statistically between Mts concentrations in liver, kidney and gills; muscle showed the lowest Mts concentrations. Multivariate analysis ACP determined relationship between Mts-L and Cu and Mts-G and Cd. The Mts in muscle was related with Pb and Cd. There was no association between physiological condition and metals concentrations, however, the RNA/ DNA showed relationship with Mts-M and Mts-L