What could have happened to this poor gull's beak? Do you think it might have hit a window or something? And how likely is it to survive with such an injury? I can't imagine it being very easy to feed with a beak as bent as that. I saw it in Bude yesterday, with lots of other gulls, near the canal/Summerleaze Beach. I didn't notice the beak until I was looking at my photographs when I got home, so I didn't really observe it well enough to see if it was bothered by it. (Hopefully the picture will show up, fingers crossed!!)
Hi Anna,
Poor thing. I hope it survives. I had a jackdaw with a broken beak. The top was bent upwards. I saw him daily for several weeks, then he disappeared, but he was managing to eat.
Cheers, Linda.
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Hi anna
Poor soul. {sad}
Gull or not, it is simply the fact that it had suffered from a 'newly created'' deformity of its bill, and has to live to it to this day.
I am sure it is adaptable, and will cope no matter what. Animals are always a lot more resilant then we take them credit for and they cope in many ways
Take Sparrow's story about the one legged Duck, and the other from myself with the Eagle with the missing area of its beak. Nature just seems to bounce back.
Let us know if you find any moee news abou the gull
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Poor thing! in all honestly I doubt this bird is likely to fare very well in the grand scheme of things. AnnaBanna i do think your right, it's perhaps most likely that this birds has collided with a reflective surface.
A bird’s bill consists of an upper and lower mandible, both of which have a bone base with a horny covering. The bill grows continually from the growth point at the base of the bill to make up for the wear and tear of use, in a similar way to a human fingernail.
If the tip of a mandible is broken off, the opposing mandible will grow unchecked so long as they can still eat at all. Mandibles that have become displaced laterally, so that their tips are not opposing, will often grow abnormally forming a slightly crossed bill. Inherited crossed bills have been recorded in some species.
Any damage to the growth area of the bill will also result in abnormal growth. Disease and parasites can affect the growth area, and hence a heavy infestation of mites may result in bill deformities. made all the more worse by the birds inability to preen. Depending on the nature of the damage, it can result in long usable bills or bent bills of any shape. Extreme bill deformities are rarely seen in the wild, because any condition that prevents the bird from eating will soon cause the bird to starve.
Moer discussion on bill deformities also photographed by BBB can be seen here
What a fantastically in depth and interesting answer, LloydScott, thank you very much! Sad for my poor gull though :(
Unknown said: Poor thing! in all honestly I doubt this bird is likely to fare very well in the grand scheme of things. AnnaBanna i do think your right, it's perhaps most likely that this birds has collided with a reflective surface. A bird’s bill consists of an upper and lower mandible, both of which have a bone base with a horny covering. The bill grows continually from the growth point at the base of the bill to make up for the wear and tear of use, in a similar way to a human fingernail. If the tip of a mandible is broken off, the opposing mandible will grow unchecked so long as they can still eat at all. Mandibles that have become displaced laterally, so that their tips are not opposing, will often grow abnormally forming a slightly crossed bill. Inherited crossed bills have been recorded in some species. Any damage to the growth area of the bill will also result in abnormal growth. Disease and parasites can affect the growth area, and hence a heavy infestation of mites may result in bill deformities. made all the more worse by the birds inability to preen. Depending on the nature of the damage, it can result in long usable bills or bent bills of any shape. Extreme bill deformities are rarely seen in the wild, because any condition that prevents the bird from eating will soon cause the bird to starve. Moer discussion on bill deformities also photographed by BBB can be seen here
Unknown said: What a fantastically in depth and interesting answer, LloydScott, thank you very much!
What a fantastically in depth and interesting answer, LloydScott, thank you very much!
I second that!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Thanks Lloyd Scott. A very informative reply and a good reference point for any future observations,