![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-4115-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-winged-blackbird-4115-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nAnd no, I’m not kidding.<\/p>\n
Bill deformities in birds are becoming increasingly common. I’ve documented a variety of species over the past 10 years or so exhibiting various shapes of\u00a0anomalous bills, including the following:<\/p>\n
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A Red-winged Blackbird with a crossed bill. I’ve also photographed a Sage Thrasher with a crossed bill.<\/p>\n
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A male Ring-necked Pheasant with a long, corkscrew-shaped upper bill. I can’t imagine how this bird was able to feed and survive but he appeared to be perfectly healthy.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-3311-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-3311-ron-dudley\\"")
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An adult Red-tailed Hawk with grossly overgrown upper and lower bills. This bird was hunting and feeding successfully and I watched\u00a0as it consumed several voles. Its feeding technique was “different” but it was able to get the job done without too much trouble.<\/p>\n
Several years ago this condition in raptors was called “long-billed hawk syndrome” by some\u00a0authorities but more and more I’m seeing it\u00a0referred to as “avian keratin disorder<\/a>” as researchers learn more about it, especially\u00a0in affected populations of Alaskan Black-capped Chickadees.\u00a0A newly discovered virus \u2013 poecivirus \u2013 is the likely culprit in many cases.<\/p>\n Ok, with that extended prelude let’s cut to the chase.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yesterday fellow bird photographer Dave Douglass contacted me through the contact page of my blog with the following question:<\/p>\n To be honest I was a little skeptical at first that it was actually a “double upper bill” and thought it was more likely to be some form of AKD\/long-billed hawk syndrome but I provided Dave my email address and he sent me some images of the hawk in question.<\/p>\n I was taken aback by what I saw in\u00a0Dave’s photos.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright Dave Douglass, Image Used By Permission<\/em><\/p>\n The bird really does appear to have a double upper bill.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright Dave Douglass, Image Used By Permission<\/em><\/p>\n One appears to be laying atop\u00a0the other with at least some space between the two and only the top one appears to have a distinct\u00a0cere.<\/p>\n Dave said these photos were taken\u00a04 days ago (March 19, 2018) in the eastern Sierras of CA near Don Pedro Reservoir.\u00a0The hawk “did not look unhealthy” and there was “nothing unusual in its flying ability”.<\/p>\n To my untrained eye this does not appear to be AKD or anything else caused by a virus or other environmental factors. Because the bird apparently has two “copies” of its upper bill I’m more suspicious of some kind of genetic anomaly but of course that’s largely just a shot in the dark by this long-retired biology and zoology teacher.<\/p>\n So I’m wondering if any of my readers, particularly among the\u00a0falconers, rehabbers, researchers and\u00a0raptor authorities\u00a0who follow my blog, have any insight about what may be going on with this hawk.<\/p>\n Both Dave and I are consumed by curiosity so we\u00a0thank you\u00a0in advance for any feedback.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And no, I’m not kidding.<\/p>\n\n
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