Does anyone have any ideas what might of happened to this Turtledove?
I first thought he/she may have been attacked but I noticed as he/she bends down to peck at the ground, what appears to be a lump of skin covered in feathers leans forward with him/her, it only seems to be attached near the base of it's neck. The bird appears to be fine, foraging on the ground normally and not bothered by the clump on it's breast.
I'm wondering if this bird had a cyst and it's burst, because it appears to be deflated, but I'm not sure whether this can happen in birds? Does anyone have any ideas?? Thanks in advance.
Hi Kimbolina,you seem to spot sick(?) birds all the time. I have asked some people, so far nobody has seen that kind of thing before. I would like to know, what it is. E-mail the photos to a Zoo, see what they think. (I could say, to a vet, but.....most aren't good with birds ?)
M-L
Thanks for your reply Araminta. I don't know about spotting sick birds all the time, but I have seen some really unusual things in birds. For example, there is a white Sparrow in the area not to mention Sparrows with white markings on their feathers which I don't think is normal, a pigeon with no tail feathers, a Raven with magpie markings and a Raven with a high pitch voice who can almost talk.
I've never noticed any of these before, but since I started taking photo's of birds (still learning) I've notice these things more. I've seen birds in my area that I never even knew we had, as silly as it sounds.
I might take your advice and see if I can find the email address to our local zoo.
Thanks :)
Ooops forgot to mention the Spotted Turtledove is doing fine, he carries on with his life normally, so I don't think it's bothering him. I have seen him daily since this photo was taken (3 days ago?).
...still no answer?? Have you seen the dove again? Is the thing still there? I'd love to find out, what it is!
M-L
No clue yet. He was here again this morning. He doesn't seem to be affected by it at all, he just carries on with his life like there is nothing wrong with him. It's not any worse than it was the other day but if and when I see him, I'll keep an eye on him. I can't get close to him, I can only observe from my kitchen window otherwise he'll fly off, but looking at it, it seems like it's only connected at the base of his neck, the rest of it hangs loose and it doesn't appear to have been joined to his chest at all. When he moves around I can see under his chest and there doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary from what I can see.
Thanks for asking.