Hi folks, Bud Anderson will be giving a noontime talk in Olympia on Thursday.
Be there or be square.
Jon. Anderson
Olympia, WA
festuca at olywa.net

>>> John Pierce 11/08/05 2:55 PM >>>

WDFW Wildlife Program is sponsoring a brown bag seminar on November 17th, noon-1:30. The seminar will be in the WDFW Director's Conference Room in the NRB 5th floor, 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia, Washington.

Title: Beak abnormalities among buteos on the Pacific coast of North America

*CLIFFORD M. ANDERSON, Falcon Research Group, Box 248, Bow, WA 98232 USA,
bud at frg.org (360) 757-1911

Serious beak abnormalities have been observed and reported in 74 wild Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), three Rough-legged Hawks (B. lagopus) and one Ferruginous Hawk (B. regalis) in the three westernmost states and British Columbia. There are also records of two migrant Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) from Texas and Minnesota. First discovered in 1997 in Washington State, the "long-billed" syndrome is characterized by abnormal growth of the maxilla and mandible but not in the claws. X-rays indicate that it results from accelerated growth of the keratin sheath and not the underlying bone. Sixty-three of these records are from Washington, eight are from California, five from British Columbia and two from Oregon. Among Red-tails, adult birds of both sexes are involved, as are both resident and migrant individuals. As the condition develops, the maxilla extends (often grotesquely) and the overgrown beak becomes unmistakably prominent. The tip may break off and form a square or blunt end ("broken-bill" form) which apparently impedes feeding and leads to starvation. In other cases maxillae may continue to grow and eventually misalign producing the "cross-bill" form or they may curve around to enclose the mandible tip and prevent the bird from opening its beak fully ("hook-bill" form). In another example, the keratin from the mandible is forced to grow parallel inside the curve of the maxilla creating the "sickle-bill" form. In most cases the keratin has a white, flaky appearance. Affected birds often carry high densities of feather lice, probably as a combined result of impeded preening and low condition. Under most circumstances affected birds are easily identified and should be reported. The cause of this syndrome is currently unknown.