Southern Black-Backed Gull with a Hooked Beak?
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raypenber
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2023 10:15 am
Southern Black-Backed Gull with a Hooked Beak?
I spotted this juvenile bird at Tomahawk Lagoon, Dunedin. Do we think it flew into something an this shaped beak is caused by trauma, or could it be a mutation?
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Jim Kirker
- Posts: 219
- Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2017 8:54 pm
Re: Southern Black-Backed Gull with a Hooked Beak?
This article summarises beak deformities.
https://www.bto.org/our-science/project ... bgbw/types
Most deformities appear to be due to abnormal growth of the outer horny keratin layer and not the underlying bone and have been called "Avian Keratin Disorder".
There is evidence of a viral infection of the cells forming the keratin layer in birds with AKD.
https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mbio.00874-16
" In this study, we used next-generation sequencing to investigate potential causes of avian keratin disorder (AKD), an emerging epizootic of beak deformities affecting numerous species across continents. Focusing on Alaskan BCCH, we found evidence of a single pathogen in the beaks of AKD-affected individuals: a novel picornavirus that we have named poecivirus. While we cannot rule out the presence of additional pathogens in other tissues, we did detect a strong, statistically significant correlation between poecivirus and AKD. "
https://www.bto.org/our-science/project ... bgbw/types
Most deformities appear to be due to abnormal growth of the outer horny keratin layer and not the underlying bone and have been called "Avian Keratin Disorder".
There is evidence of a viral infection of the cells forming the keratin layer in birds with AKD.
https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mbio.00874-16
" In this study, we used next-generation sequencing to investigate potential causes of avian keratin disorder (AKD), an emerging epizootic of beak deformities affecting numerous species across continents. Focusing on Alaskan BCCH, we found evidence of a single pathogen in the beaks of AKD-affected individuals: a novel picornavirus that we have named poecivirus. While we cannot rule out the presence of additional pathogens in other tissues, we did detect a strong, statistically significant correlation between poecivirus and AKD. "