Thank you Wesley, Greg and Pete for responding so quickly. Wesleys email response I believe did not get on to the list serve so I copyed it below.
Greg Ward Hi Greg, I'm replying from my web mail, so for some reason I can't reply to the entire list. However, that Song Sparrow had an infection of avian pox (a virus that causes growths like that on the hard parts of birds. I did my PhD research on Song Sparrows (near Vancouver Island), and our study population always had a small number of diseased birds...some of which lived for multiple years with these sorts of growths. My (imperfect) understanding of avian pox is that birds will die not from the infection per se, but instead if the disease gets to the point of debilitating the a bird (either growths at the beak that prevent feeding, or severe growths on its legs that prevent their use). Wesley Hochachka ________________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] On Behalf Of Greg Ward [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 10:34 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Song Sparrow From: Pete Marchetto [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 10:45 AM To: Greg Ward; Charles M. Dardia Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Song Sparrow Greg, I'm not certain what it is, but there's a chance that someone over in CUMV (Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates) might know, or, failing that, the Vet college ( http://vet.cornell.edu ). I'm also including on this e-mail Charlie Dardia, who is the collections manager for CUMV, and who would be able to tell you what to do with the bird if there's any interest in it either at CUMV or the Vet college. -Pete _________________________________________ Pete Marchetto Engineer, CLO/BRP Grad Student, MAE/TAM 1.607.254.6281 "Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch, who watches over you. Make a little birdhouse in your soul." -- Linnell and Flansburgh, 1990 On Apr 21, 2011, at 10:34 AM, Greg Ward wrote: Hi, I joined the list 2 years ago when my daughter began collage at IC. It is great to compare what is happening in the Cayuga basin with western Mass. I have a question that I was hoping someone might be able to answer. The other day a friend of mine brought me a Song Sparrow that there cat had killed and covering its feet are light brown warty or fleshy growths. Essentially creating a club like foot. I included a photo however the quality is not very good. Any ideas? Thanks, Greg Ward Great Barrington, MA. [email protected] <photo.jpg> -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
