a truly round robin

[galanthus]

I was oggling our feathered friends from my desk at work this avo when I spotted an extremely round robin. He was as puffed up as the most puffed puffer fish I've eva seen Truly, he was like a colourful tennis ball . He was just sat there; I've been watching birds for an eternity and never seen one do this. Is it to do with looking cool to attract a mate or just that it was quite cold and he was puffed up for insulation ?

[naturelover]

i know birds do fluff up when they are cold,but he might have been ill,hope not.

[solus]

You might not have realised from your cosy office but it was rather parky today - so poor Robin was probably just trying to keep warm!

[galanthus]

Originally Posted by solus

You might not have realised from your cosy office but it was rather parky today - so poor Robin was probably just trying to keep warm!

thought that was probably the case. He looked very comical yet cute

[GlendaleGuy]

If it is puffed up like a puffer fish, i.e. all feathers are splayed, so that air would penetrate beneath the plumage, then this would be trichomoniasis (canker). It will appear to pant. I have seen this in greenfinches but I'm sure it could affect robins too. The bird dies very quickly, usually within 24 hours.

[galanthus]

Originally Posted by GlendaleGuy

If it is puffed up like a puffer fish, i.e. all feathers are splayed, so that air would penetrate beneath the plumage, then this would be trichomoniasis (canker). It will appear to pant. I have seen this in greenfinches but I'm sure it could affect robins too. The bird dies very quickly, usually within 24 hours.

Nooooo !!!!! This is in the middle of SSSI woodland, should I report it to the county ecologist or could he have just been cold

[willing to learn]

I bet he was just cold like this little fellow.
Regards
Colin

[GlendaleGuy]

When birds are cold they trap air beneath the feathers, so they look bigger but the feathers remain knitted together on the surface to keep the warmth trapped within, like a duvet.
With canker, the feathers are not knitted. They are splayed.
Which of the above sounds like your bird?
If it is ill it will die but I have had a greenfinch like this on my bird feeders. It died and no other birds seemed to be affected. So I don't believe it is a serious problem. It doesn't seem to spread wildly, although the RSPB did report an outbreak a year or two ago.

[galanthus]

Originally Posted by willing to learn

I bet he was just cold like this little fellow.
Regards
Colin

He did look similar, maybe a little more rounded from the front but didn't get a side view. I really hope he wasn't ill. Will keep an eye out on the other birds for a while.

[galanthus]

Originally Posted by GlendaleGuy

When birds are cold they trap air beneath the feathers, so they look bigger but the feathers remain knitted together on the surface to keep the warmth trapped within, like a duvet.
With canker, the feathers are not knitted. They are splayed.
Which of the above sounds like your bird?
.

I don't think they were actually splayed as such, his outline was quite smooth, just like a tennis ball, no obvious deformation of the head feathers that I could see.