What is wrong with this bird?

Hi ValO

Your post has intrigued me.  We once had a fledgling female blackbird (parents nested in our garden for years) which had a growth on her chest - it wasn't as red and sore as Jane's bird but it definitely protruded from her chest like a blind boil.  Bless her heart, even when we couldn't see her, we could hear her clearly as she had a very distinct cheep - it was a bit like a sneeze when you put your hand over your mouth,  (I know this is going to read hopeless but i'll try) a Schnzzzzt.  At the time I even wrote to the RSPB to see what could be done but without a photo (at which I am hopeless) they couldn't really advise properly only to say it was doubtful she would survive her first winter.  Sadly we went away on holiday and we never saw her again.  I even got my Dad round to feed her in our absence but he said she disappeared shortly after we had gone.  She was a sweet little thing, very tame, I could feed her from my hand and she would come to the apple tree if I stood near it.  From your post I am now wondering if it was Avian Pox instead of a birth defect.

Unknown said:

Hi All

I emailed Richard Broughton who is doing the study on these lesions and here is his reply.

Hi Jane, Many thanks - that certainly looks like the same thing. It's a first-winter bird too, so the same age as all the rest. I've had a small handful of reports now (all in the south/east), so at least I now know it's not something particular to the woods of NW Cambridgeshire. I've also had a photo of a Dunnock and a Blackbird with what might be the same thing, but it was harder to tell with those. No sign of it on a Blue Tit yet, however, which is the oddest thing. Regards, Richard  Richard K Broughton

 

Hi Jane - thanks for posting up Richard's response. I agree with MarJus, it is very peculiar - especially that comment "It's a first-winter bird too, so the same age as all the rest.". I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

Unknown said:

Yesterday I watched my feeder and saw at least 3 birds with these growths,  

My goodness, that's not good at all. I too hope they find out what it is and soon!

I agree.

For info, what I meant by "not sure what to make of that" is that Richard seems to be saying it is ONLY youngsters that have been affected. Thankfully all my visitors are clear so far but now that I have been alerted I will certainly be watching out for it so I am really grateful that you have brought it to my attention. Just wish it wasn't happening at all...

Hi

If its only youngsters, it makes you wonder if its something in the nests.

Where do great tits nest ?

Jane

I quite agree with ValO that the most likely cause is avian pox. This viral skin disease is described by the experts as 'highly contagious but self-limiting' - in other words, it tends to occur in clusters but does not spread enough to become an outbreak. There is a definite cluster of avian pox in the Surrey/Sussex area, affecting great tits and blue tits, confirmed by post mortems on some of the birds by the vets involved with the Garden Bird Health Initiative. In addition, we have received reports about dunnocks from various parts of southern and eastern England, and the other day we had a photo of a starling with pox lesions in front of its face. I wouldn't like to comment one way or another on Kezmo's blackbird, though - there are may other possible explanations for growths on birds, and many of them need a close examination or even a post mortem before they can be properly identified.

Avian pox (specific to birds only by the way) is in the same group of viruses as chicken pox that affects people. Like chicken pox, it is transmitted by flakes and secretions from the lesions. The virus in itself is not lethal to birds, and if the lesions are only small and in locations that do not affect the bird's day to day life in any way, it can even recover from it, gaining life-long immunity in the bargain. However, lesions like the one shown in the picture that affect the bird's sight, flight or ability to feed, are likely to compromise the bird in such ways that the bird either starves or is easily taken by a predator. Unfortunately, there is no treatment available, which makes seeing the more severe cases so sad.

I can see why there would be more juvenile birds affected by the pox. Imagine an adult with pox lesions brooding its chicks - each of the chicks will risk coming into contact with the lesions and hence contract the virus.

Many thanks for that detailed explanation Trochilus. As I said in a earlier post all my visitors are, at the moment, full of health and vitality. Fingers crossed that it stays that way.

She was quite a character by the sound of it Kezmo, and such a shame that she had some sort of illness.  At least she was well looked after during her short life.  It is possible that this was Avian Pox although these growths don't normally appear on the chest but there are always exceptions.  She had a distinctive call too and, occasionally we do receive reports of birds actually sneezing.  Whether they get colds like us or allergies that cause this sneezing I'm not too sure.  In fact, we know very little about bird illnesses really but the RSPB is part of a study, the Garden Bird Health Initiative (GBHi), which is looking at this in more detail.  The main aim is to minimise disease and other risks for garden birds.  There is more information about this here and I do hope you will find it interesting.

Hi ValO

Thank you for your reply, yes she was a dear little thing and I was sorry to lose her. 

Thinking about it, from the same brood were 2 males  Sadly one of them got snatched by the nextdoor neighbour's cat, but the other seemed perfectly healthy. So if AP is contagious then I assume they would have had it too and the parents were both healthy birds.