Request for observations of oral fistulas

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Dr Jim Reynolds (Birmingham University) is asking for reports of wild birds with the 'rare' condition known as oral fistula. In birds suffering this condition the skin and muscle below the lower mandible is missing and the tongue is permanently protruding outside the mouth. It was first described in stitchbirds in 2001, and has since been observed in a handful of other species.
The attached information sheet gives more detail. If you see a bird fitting this description, please complete the attached reporting form and email it to Jim directly.
Thanks
Neil

[Neil Fitzgerald]

I've seen it in a red-billed gull at Kawhia a couple of decades ago, and assumed at the time it was the bird I had earlier rescued from a baited hook left lying in a dingy. It apparently survived for many years. I wish I'd photographed it.

[SomesBirder]

Here is a male Hihi with a sublingual oral fistula that I saw at Zealandia today.

SOF shirotsuno.jpg (252.46 KiB) Viewed 902 times