bald blackbird

[Dutchess]

Originally Posted by valleyforge

>>>>At the moment, we have a magpie who is in the process of sprouting all new feathers on the head and neck, having spent last week resembling a mini-vulture ... in another week he'll have regained his overall glossy plumage and be well insulated again for the winter ... so thankfully we won't have to resort to knitting him a wee balaclava. <<<<<

A magpie in a balaclava?! Can only be up to no good!

(I do like magpies, actually )

D.

[dickybird]

shame.....id already gone out and bought mini-knitting needles!


thahks for the replies. yes,v.f.--i have seen moulting in blackbirds before but it was the acute nature of this one that made me wonder whether it was something else.

dickybird

[Amoeba]

Originally Posted by valleyforge

At the moment, we have a magpie who is in the process of sprouting all new feathers on the head and neck, having spent last week resembling a mini-vulture ... in another week he'll have regained his overall glossy plumage and be well insulated again for the winter ... so thankfully we won't have to resort to knitting him a wee balaclava.

There's a magpie just like that at the university grounds, seen it a few times with its companion that it always follows around (who doesn't look bald anywhere). It looks a bit scraggly on its wings and tail though too, at first I thought it was sick but it's got plenty of energy by the looks of things and is always foraging. Perhaps one of those out of sync moults too?

[karenh]

Originally Posted by dickybird

i have a blackbird visiting my garden that is completely bald from the top of its head to just above the wings--it looks as though someone is unravelling its jumper! the rest of its plumage appears fine and it has all its tail and wing feathers. it appears well and not noticeably affected by its state.
i wonder what may be causing this condition? ive seen blackbirds in moult but this seems extreme.
any ideas please?

dickybird

I've got exactly the same in my garden! Bald head and neck but rest of body fine. He doesnt seem to be fazed by it at all but I'm worried when the winter sets in that he wont survive because of the cold. Do you think its some kind of infection?

[posie]

Originally Posted by valleyforge

It's not that uncommon DB ... and there are at least a couple of previous threads on this forum complete with photos (of blackbirds).

In my own experience, this appears to occur (or at least is observed) more frequently in male blackbirds than in any other species, although also occasionally seen in corvids and in some finches ... male chaffinches in particular.

Normally feathers are moulted in a sequence, so that dropped feathers are replaced by new ones ... apart from appearing untidy for a while, there usually isn't any apparent 'baldness'.

However, sometimes ... and for a variety of reasons ... the normal moulting pattern can become suspended or arrested, such that when it resumes there is a rapid loss and replacement of the plumage. To the casual observer, this is much more noticable when it involves the feathers on the head and neck of a bird.

Because we work 'up-close and personal' with those birds that are in our long term care, I can vouch that the condition isn't caused by the presence of mites or any other exoparasite ... nor is it due to any apparent dietary deficiency (although those are quite possibly factors in some birds).

Since it appears to occur more often in male birds than in females, I suspect that some hormonal imbalance might be implicated.

In some birds that have exhibited this condition, all moults in successive years have occurred normally, so the fact that it has happenned once does not predispose that it will occur again in the same bird.

At the moment, we have a magpie who is in the process of sprouting all new feathers on the head and neck, having spent last week resembling a mini-vulture ... in another week he'll have regained his overall glossy plumage and be well insulated again for the winter ... so thankfully we won't have to resort to knitting him a wee balaclava.

Hello KarenH, Valleyforge has given us the facts , above quote.....Posie..

[Za]

This thread reminded me of this little guy I found a while back,

He looked quite evil, but seemed to be happy, singing away.

[Tracey.A]

Originally Posted by Za

This thread reminded me of this little guy I found a while back,

He looked quite evil, but seemed to be happy, singing away.

Poor boy! I wonder if he managed to attract a mate. I saw a bald Blackbird a couple of years ago, but I've never seen a bald Robin, poor soul!

Tracey