Advice Re., Avian Keratin Disorder

Hi,

I'm new to RSPB but have always taken an interest in wild birds around me.  My concern is, about 2 months ago an underfed looking crow started to visit my garden eating the wild bird seed.  He came every day for about 10 days then disappeared for 2 only to return and promptly sit in the corner and die within half an hour.  When I examined him his beak was a bit misshapen and big for his size but i thought no more about it.  However, yesterday i saw another crow eating from a feeder with the same but worse deformity of his beak.  

I cant find any info except from the US that this is Avian Keratin Disorder and wondered if anyone knew how common it is in Scotland.

  • Hi Cesare, it's distressing to see birds with beak deformities. We see it mostly on small birds like tits and robins. I'd not heard about it affecting crows in the UK but clearly it does. Sounds like an even bigger issue for corvids in the USA.

    You may find this ARTICLE from the BTO of interest which also includes a link to another article about possible causes. Other than that I'm afraid I have no further insight.

    You could contact the BTO direct if you wanted further information.

  • Hi Tony,
    Thanks so much for reply. Looks like I'll be able to report it to BTO.
    Thanks again,
    Cesare