I'm glad that I can add something to your list that I've been
eavesdropping on for my birding trip in a few months....
We have had several outbreaks of mortality in wintering birds,
mainly mallards (but I can find out what else if anyone is
interested), that had ingested remnants of harvested chick peas
(whole peas) from fields. I got into this as a toxicologist, but we
found nothing except grossly swollen upper digestive tracts
(particularly crop) down to the gizzard. We presumed that the birds
had gorged on the chick peas that had then absorbed much water,
enlarged and interefered, fatally, on cardiovascular function.
I the seeds had not been smooth & round, perhaps perforation
could have occurred.
It really was a (very rare) case of gorging until death. Here we
usually make a delicious humus of chick peas & olive oil & then
gorge on it too!
Alan
Alan Shlosberg
Dept. of Toxicology
Kimron Veterinary Institute
P.O.Box 12, 50250 Bet Dagan, Israel
Tel: work +972-3-9681672 home +972-8-9414490
Fax: work +972-3-9681730 home +972-8-9410436
E-mail:
"When you have eliminated the impossible,
whatever remains, however improbable, must
be the truth" - Sherlock Holmes
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