Motion sickness in quail: body-rotation-induced conditioned fluid aversions in C. coturnix japonica.

The presence of motion sickness in Japanese quail (C. coturnix japonica) was examined by using a conditioned fluid aversion as an index. Twenty-three birds were divided into three groups. One group received a novel fluid (yellow-sour water) followed by 30 min of body rotation at 70 rpm (on a schedule of 15 s on and 5 s off). Another group received the novel fluid followed by exposure to a sham rotation procedure. The third group experienced the rotation procedure following access to water. The group receiving the rotation procedure contingent on presentation of the novel fluid exhibited a conditioned aversion to this fluid (relative to the control groups) over days of acquisition (p less than .025) which subsequently dissipated when rotation was no longer contingent on the presentation of the yellow-sour water (extinction). These data thus demonstrate the presence of motion sickness in a gallinaceous species as indexed by a conditioned fluid aversion procedure.