Klause wrote:
>Bactarias? Viral infection? Over a three year period? I have to let that
>sit with the experts.
Stephen wrote:
>Have there been many studies of endemic diseases in wild populations of
>Australian birds? Dare I suggest that this would be interesting to hear
>more about on Birding-Aus?
Adult birds can carry infectious agents that cause them no harm
systemically but can affect their offspring. I'm not saying that this is
what's going on with Klause's sunbirds but it would be one of a number of
things to consider.
Shane Raidal spent much of his PhD up a gum tree studying cockatoos with
Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD also called circovirus) and found
that the same healthy parents could have PBFD affected chicks year after
year. But he can tell you about that himself....
In avian veterinary practice every year we see wild caught juvenile galahs
and cockatoos with psittacosis, megabacteria, circovirus and/or enterovirus
and parasitic infections. There have been various studies of endemic
diseases in wild populations of Australian birds. I haven't got references
in front of me just at the moment but Rod Reece and Steve McOrist have both
done good work.
Don't want to alienate the twitchers with vetspeak.....
Pat Macwhirter
Registered Specialist in Bird Medicine
Highbury Veterinary Clinic
128 Highbury Road, BURWOOD, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
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