This bird has an infection of scaly leg mites which is usually not 
fatal.

Paul Woodward
Fairfax City, VA

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carolyn Ruth Sturtevant" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 5:50 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] American Robin with "fat legs"


In my yard on Saturday late afternoon March 15, I observed an American Robin
with the appearance of "fat legs."  Looking throught the window with
binoculars, I wasn't able to determine if the robin's legs--really the
tarsus segment--had extra flesh or if it had been stomping in mud to build a
nest.  I'm sure I've never seen a robin with such legs, and they probably
use their beaks to tranport nexting materials.

This morning, in better light, I watched the same robin splash in my
backyard bird bath and then groom its feathers while sitting atop a fence.
No mud washed from the legs.  Each tarsus appears tan in color, lighter than
I would expect in a robin.  Each leg has extra flesh from the feathered
tibia down to the toes, tapered a bit at both ends, and maybe with a flap of
tissue running vertically at least on one side.  I'd estimate the width of
the tissue to be about one quarter of an inch in the widest part.

Otherwise, the bird looked healthy and active.  I need to keep watching to
see if the bird hangs around and nests in the neighborhood.  If anyone is
familiar with a condition that would cause this strange appearance, I'd be
interested in hearing about it.  I'll probably report it to the folks at
Smithsonian's Neighborhood Nestwatch, since they have banded and monitored
birds in my yard for selected projects over recent years.  Thanks.

Carolyn Sturtevant
Greenbelt, MD