Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 10:38:42 -0700 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Clive Harris Subject: Re: Bald birds In-Reply-To: <00d201c2537d$93b31640$bea1c7cf@Earth2> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Although this doesn't sounds as if it is the case here, very occasionally birds seem to go permanently bald. When we lived in New Delhi our garden was frequented for several years by a bald Common Mynah. It didn't have the fuzzy baldness of molt - it was completely featherless, exposing smooth, bare yellowish skin on its head. It was a really odd-looking bird. I am not sure whether a parasite or disease had caused this, but the bird survived at least 2 years and nested at least once, so the lack of feathers did not seem to turn off potential mates.. Clive Harris Cabin John Walter Ellison wrote: Hi All, Quite simply your birds are molting. Some birds molt a lot of their head feathers at once as they go about replacing them. Blue Jays are especially noteworthy for looking ungainly and vulture-like during head molt. I hadn't noticed this as much with cardinals but some must do so as well. Good Birding, Walter Ellison MD/DC Atlas Coordinator - MOS 23460 Clarissa Rd Chestertown, MD 21620-3645 410-778-9568 rossgull@crosslink.net "A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast." - E. B. White ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet Millenson" To: Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 1:38 PM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Bald birds > The other day there was a cardinal in my yard whose head was bare, and just > now I saw a Blue Jay with the same 'do! (What, are crests "out" this year?!) > Are these probably young birds whose relatives have picked on them, > literally, or is there some other likely explanation? ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes =========================================================================