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Re: Ticks on birds



DONNA . . .

Each year I trap at least a few birds with ticks here at Hilton Pond 
near York SC. In some years, there seems to be an epidemic, and this 
winter appears to be one of them.

So far I have found largish (up to 7mm long) ticks on increasing 
numbers of juncos, House Finches, and White-throated Sparrows. I once 
caught a House Finch with 23 ticks on its head!

Some smaller birds (e.g., goldfinches) might die from blood loss from 
several ticks, but there's also evidence the ticks cause a 
"paralysis" in birds they infest, interfering with their normal 
behavior.

BTW, I once caught a Purple Finch with 23 ticks on its head!

For a few years I pulled the ticks off captured birds, but this often 
resulted in bird tissue coming off with the tick--not a good think if 
the tick's on an eyelid. So now I just make notes and leave the ticks 
in place. Some of the birds do die, but more often than not I 
recapture a tick-infested bird later in the season to find that it no 
longer is a host and seems to be none the worse for wear.

Since 1982 at Hilton Pond, I've found ticks on these species:

CARDINAL, N.
FINCH, PURPLE
FINCH, HOUSE
GOLDFINCH, AM.
JAY, BLUE
JUNCO, DARK-EYED
MOCKINGBIRD, N.
ROBIN, AM.
SPARROW, FIELD
SPARROW, FOX
SPARROW, SONG
SPARROW, WHITE-THROATED
THRASHER, BROWN
TITMOUSE, TUFTED
TOWHEE, RUFOUS-SIDED
WREN, CAROLINA

I'd be happy to discuss this phenomenon further with anyone who'd 
like to call me at the number below.


Best wishes,

BILL

************


>The first time it happened I attributed to just a fluke that I had happened
>to see it.  That was Tuesday.  The second time I saw it was today and now I
>am downright puzzled.
>
>"It" is ticks on birds.  Tuesday I found a dead Pine Siskin in the yard,
>only to find the bird still bleeding - but not from a traumatic wound.  The
>Pine Siskin had a large tick in its crown that had broken.  Today I found a
>Dark-eyed Junco that had not one but three large ticks - one on its crown,
>one near an ear opening and one just behind an eye.
>
>Terres breifly discusses ticks on birds, pointing out that they tend to be
>found on ground-dwelling birds, tend to concentrate themselves near the eyes
>and on the head (where the bird can't reach to preen) and apparently don't
>do much harm to the birds as a general rule.  He mentions that a heavily
>infested nest of falcon nestlings was lost once and their deaths were
>attributed to starvation and anemia from the numerous ticks on their bodies.
>
>As a rehabber, I was taught to treat blood loss as bordering on major
>catastrophe and to stop it immediately.  Songbirds weighing just a few grams
>can't afford to lose much blood.
>
>So my question is: is it possible these birds died due indirectly to the
>ticks, perhaps froze to death or starved to death in a weakened condition or
>perhaps shock from blood loss?  The Pine Siskin was a bit skinny but I've
>seen worse.  The Junco was a bit underweight but nothing near 
>"hatchet-keeled".
>
>As active as my feeders are, I generally find a few dead birds during the
>winter.  Some freeze to death; some die of broken necks and/or head trauma
>when they fly into something (running from the Sharp-shinned who winters in
>our woods, I suspect).  But finding birds infested with ticks is a new twist.
>
>Anybody else seen this?  Banders?  Rehabbers?
>
>Donna Bailey
>Winnsboro, SC
>e-mail: dsbailey@conterra.com
>URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey
>      "Where are the Birds?  Migration across South Carolina"
>URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey/audubon
>     "Columbia Audubon Society"

**********

BILL HILTON JR.
"The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road
York, South Carolina 29745
USA

e-mail: <hilton@rubythroat.org>

Voice & Fax: (803) 684-5852

Operation RubyThroat Website: <http://www.rubythroat.org>


"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to 
watch the sunset."

						BHjr.

**********