Re: [BirdPhotoIndia] Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark: Beak Deformity & Normal for Comparision

Dear Dr Mishra, I feel bill deformities are not really as rare as we think...I think the problem (at least in my case!) is not knowing how and where to report / document it.

For example, the attached picture (though slightly out-of-focus) shows a female Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark with a bill deformity which I had photographed at Pocharam (near Hyderabad) on June 29, 2009. I have also, earlier, seen House Crow, Common Myna etc with bill deformities.

 

Regards

Umesh Mani

On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 7:27 AM, DR.SHRUTIDEV MISHRA <leoraktim@gmail.com> wrote:

Common Name: Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark

 

Species Name: Eremopterix griseus

 

Location: Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

 

Date taken:02.04.2010 and 04.04.2010

 

Equipments: Nikon D90 + Nikkor 70-300mm AF VR zoom

 

Special Remarks:

• These are two of my earliest shots since I started taking a serious interest in Bird Photography.
• The first shot is of a Male Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark with an abnormally elongated mandible, and the second shot is of a normal bird for comparision.
• I have gone through records of Bill Deformities in Passerines; including detailed studies by the famed Rouge River Bird Observatory, Michigan;  the Alaska Science Center (USGS)  and also a Flickr photo pool called Birds with Deformed Bills ; but I have not come across any record of any type of  bill deformity in Eremopterix grisea. The only reports of Bird beak anomalies reported from India is in a group of House Crows (Corvus splendens) in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• The various reasons postulated to cause bill deformities are- genetic, infectious, injury, pollutant chemicals, nutritional deficiency etc. One report even holds the high ambient temperture responsible for the keratin overgrowth in the beak.
• Any addition information or critique  on this subject will be welcome. Experts please comment !

 Regards,

Dr. Shrutidev Mishra

Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

 

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Regards
Umesh Mani
Secunderabad

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