Infestation on House Crow’s feet

on 2nd September 2018

“Notice the growth on the feet of this House Crow (Corvus splendens) photographed immediately after diners had left their table in an open air restaurant.

“These crows were earlier feeding on food-waste dumped in the open behind the restaurant (above, below). After picking up leftovers from the table, they returned to the same dump to actually feed.

“As per my exchanges with experts, the scabrous crusty legs of the crows (below) might be caused by a mite, Knemidocoptes or related species – see HERE and HERE. This can however, be confirmed only after testing the skin scraping – which in this case was not possible/done.

“These birds were feeding on food waste thrown in the open behind the restaurant where these pictures were taken (at Mahad, Western Ghats, India, photographed on 23rd March 2009). They had moved to the diners’ tables after the diners had left.

“My assumption was that the birds might have contracted the infestation by moving among decaying/rotting food waste. The fact that a friend had recorded a Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) in another place with similar affliction in very similar surroundings reinforced my belief.

“However after seeing these photographs, a birder from US reported that in the US, he had seen blackbirds with similar but much less severe foot and leg problems. These birds had been spotted in parking lots where people occasionally threw them food bits, but then these parking lots were nothing like food dumps. He also reported that he knew of similar condition in parakeets and cockatiels, but never on such a full-blown scale.”

Shyam Ghate
Mumbai, India
23rd August 2018

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Clustrmaps (since 2016)