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Re: Ticks and birds
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu (CarolinaBirds)
- Subject: Re: Ticks and birds
- From: BILL HILTON JR The Piedmont Naturalist <hilton@hiltonpond.org>
- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 20:52:10 -0500
- Delivered-to: pardo@metalab.unc.edu
- In-reply-to: <15.c541aeb.2b9fd522@aol.com>
- References: <15.c541aeb.2b9fd522@aol.com>
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
I may have seen something a while back about this, but I can't remember for
sure. Today at lunch time I was watching the house finches at my back yard
feeders--checking for eye problems. I noticed a female bird with something
on the back of it's head. I couldn't figure out what it was--it was round,
dark gray, and at first I though it was a patch of skin with no feathers.
then I realized it was protruding from the back of the bird's skull. I
finally decided it looked more like a tick than anything else--a big inflated
tick. The bird was acting kind of sluggish and no wonder since the thing was
about the size of a large green pea! I have not noticed a tick on a bird
before. Is this common? Reply off list is fine.
Mary Bridges
Goldsboro, NC
MARY . . .
It probably was a tick. Just today something strange happened here at
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History. I opened a bluebird
box and found inside a dead Carolina Chickadee with an 8mm tick
attached to its throat.
You might check out my article about ticks and birds at
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ArticleBirdTicksMain.html .
Best wishes,
BILL
--
BILL HILTON JR., Executive Director
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
hilton@hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845
The mission of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is "to
conserve plants, animals, habitats, and other natural components of
the Piedmont Region of the eastern United States through observation,
scientific study, and education for students of all ages." Please
visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net) at
http://www.hiltonpond.org and http://www.rubythroat.org ("Operation
RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project").
"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset." BHjr.