Worm in bird dropping

[JRsbugs]

Taken on 7th November 2009. Approx. 30mm long with dropping. Found on slab net to my pond, I have Wood Pigeons, Doves, and Magpies regularly visiting the garden and Pheasants at the moment.

This looks to be more worm than dropping with one end which looks like it has been attached to the gut.

Don't look if you're squeamish!

[Beekeeper]

JRsbugs
I don't know if birds suffer gut worms as other species do but it certainly looks like they may from your picture.

Ian

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by Beekeeper

JRsbugs
I don't know if birds suffer gut worms as other species do but it certainly looks like they may from your picture.

Ian

Thanks Ian, I will check it out, it does look to have been attached to something. What a ghastly thing to have in your stomach.

I wonder what will happen to it now, it's still there! Would anything eat it so it would continue it's development?

Janet

[Wild-Woman]

Poultry and ducks get parasitic worms but I don't know about other birds. Any idea what bird the dropping came from?

[Paul mabbott]

All (to the best of my knowledge ) vertebrates have parasites. I'm not convinced that this is a parasite/worm - it looks more like an insect larva which is probably just slurping up some of the components of the dropping. [B]If it is a bird dropping[/b] ..... did you see the evacuation?

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Poultry and ducks get parasitic worms but I don't know about other birds. Any idea what bird the dropping came from?

I have a resident pair of Wood Pigeons, their droppings don't normally look like that of course but they are large! They come to the pond to drink. I also have resident Doves, there was one a few weeks ago looking not very well, it didn't fly when I approached it and it fell in the pond as if it was blind, it's eyes were partly shut. I haven't seen much of them lately.

There's a pair (or three!) Magpies which come daily for food I put out, they fly on the route over the pond from my Horse Chestnut tree and back.

The last few days I have had two young female Pheasants in the garden too. Jackdaws also visit! Occasionally a Jay comes too but I rarely see them, one was around not long ago.

No poultry though!

Paul, I wondered about a beetle larva, but the dropping doesn't look normal, it has a strange end with a red lump and a sort of creamy coloured sheath. No, I didn't see the evacuation.

[JRsbugs]

I should add that there were some more normal looking bird droppings nearby.

[Merrow]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

Thanks Ian, I will check it out, it does look to have been attached to something. What a ghastly thing to have in your stomach.

I wonder what will happen to it now, it's still there! Would anything eat it so it would continue it's development?

Janet

As far as I know it would die quite quickly outside of the host's body.

[JRsbugs]

Thanks Merrow, I guess that's why it's still there.

If it's still there tomorrow/today I could do a post mortem....

[Kayleigh]

You could send it to Jason he is into dissection atm then he could mount it with his collection..