Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 9/1/2007

Question
I found this yellow parakeet about 6 months ago and everything has been great until recently. I have noticed that the once yellow feathers above his nostrils have been discolored to a pinkish red. What could this be from and should i be worried?

Answer
Hi, Kristy,

Could your bird have had a bloody nose for some reason?  How about some type of discharge from his nostrils?  Could a food/water dish in the cage be red or about the color you see on the forehead?  Could be your bird is sticking its head down into a dish to eat/drink and the dish is discoloring the forehead area.  Investigate things in your bird's cage that are red/pink or similar color...your bird might be getting coloring off of toys or other in the cage.  Is there another bird that could be preening this bird and leaving blood/drawing blood?  Could your bird be scratching its head on something in the cage and injuring itself in this area?  What about broken blood feathers in this area...a broken blood feather that bleeds could leave this area pinkish red.  

Your worry would depend on what is causing this discoloration.  You'll need to closely watch your bird and investigate small things in/around the cage to see if you can determine what is causing the problem.  You might want to clean this area and watch to see when the discoloration returns (if it does) and what your bird was doing just prior to the discoloration appearing.  The culprit could be many things, so you'll need to take some time to watch to see if you can figure out what's going on.

Chrys