[TN-Bird] Re: Warbler bill deformities
- From: Nicholas Siler <nicksiler@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: hyla514@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 07:58:14 -0400
Daniel,
Thanks for the heads up. I moved from the Pacific Northwest to Tennessee in
2011. In 2010 "Avian Keratin Disorder" was reported in high densities in
several families, most notably chickadees from Alaska to Oregon. Some
theories were connected the occurance to agricultural and mining run off,
more preceisely related to the exposure of selenium and organochlorines.
I wanted to post this to share the insight that I had from living in the
Northwest in the case that this may be of some help. I am not a Scientist
(I am an educator) by training just a lover of birds, nature, and learning.
Nick Siler
Chattanooga, TN
On Mar 21, 2014 7:05 AM, "Daniel Estabrooks" <hyla514@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Hey TN-Birders,
>
> I thought I'd post this since it will probably be relevant to Tennessee
very shortly as migrants start to arrive. Down here in central Florida we
seem to have an epidemic of warblers with malformed bills. The lower
mandible looks normal, but the upper mandible is greatly enlarged and
swollen. The best way I can describe it is that it looks like the birds had
their upper mandibles removed and replaced with an engorged tick. And it's
absolutely EVERYWHERE. I've seen probably 30 birds with it in various
locations, including Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Parulas, and Palm
Warblers (both subspecies). It's getting some attention on the FL listserv,
and nobody seems to know what's causing it.
>
> Just something to watch out for in the next couple months as migrant
warblers start hitting TN. Might be something very significant going on
here.
>
> Daniel Estabrooks
> Winter Haven, FL
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