Sunday 27 September 2015

Crossbill - well not quite

From time to time we catch birds with, well how else can I put it, deformities! Today amongst the numerous Coal Tits ringed at the Lodge was this bird.


At first it looked like the whole bill was crossed but on closer examination it became apparent that the offending article was actually the lower mandible skewing to the left. We debated whether in the interests of the bird's welfare we should try and 'trim' the end to hopefully encourage even wear, but it seems the acquired wisdom is to leave well alone, which we did. The bird had a healthy weight and looked in good shape, so I'm sure it will be OK.