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Birding/Sick female Northern Cardinal at my feeder?

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Expert: - 8/6/2011


Question
Sick female Cardinal
Sick female Cardinal
Hello, sir.  I believe I might have a sick female Cardinal at my feeders. It allowed me to walk right up to it and seemed disoriented.  It was able to eat the sunflower seeds, but could barely fly.  The bird is so swollen that it's head almost disappears into its body.  It's head is bald and the remaining feathers are in disarray. I did not notice any pox.  The birds eyes are barely open.  The other birds are staying away from it.

As a precaution, I took down my feeders and birdbaths and tried to pick up as much seed as possible that had already fallen to the ground. I'm surprised this happened since I clean my feeders every week with bleach.


Can you identify the disease?  What, if anything, do I need to do now?  

Thank you,
Heather

Answer
Pretty clearly, the bird has feather mites. That's certainly why the head is bald. Normally the mites will disappear and the bird will recover. But this bird either has a major case of feather mites or something else. What you can do, if you wish, is to rub the bird's skin with a thin layer of olive oil. Keep it out of the nostrils! You can use stronger medication (from the pet store) but olive oil is cheaper and more natural. Good luck and thanks for your concern.

Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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