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Columba livia
third place,same thing,this one as only a little deformation in the claw of the rigth foot.They walk whith some dificulty,but they survive relatvly well,i presume whith pains etc..i would like to know what this is,a genetic,or a bacterian desis?
Spotted on Mar 2, 2012
Submitted on Mar 2, 2012
8 Comments
I think so to that expecly in the old part of the Porto city there are a concentration,i have to enlarge the search to other parts of the city and others citys to,tommorow i'll go to braga city to se if here in Braga the problem exist to
You are welcome Antonio.
You do have a concentration of this problem .
Voilá,this is the the information i need:)thanks Emma,several causes for feet deformities,each case could have a diferent cause.Now in all the places i pass in the city where there are pigeons i'll take atention to the details of the feet to se if i can learn more about,make an idea of the size of the problem and thanks again for the reseach you "have" to made :)
"Deformities of the feet are caused mainly by disease and injury and
are most noticeable among ground feeding species, especially in urban
environments.
Cuts to the feet can allow infection to occur which may result in
swelling and lameness... Avian pox can cause wart-like growths on the
feet of house sparrows, starlings and pigeons...
A common disability among urban birds is the loss of all or part of a
foot due to a discarded thread or wire, while discarded fishing line
can have a similar effect in the countryside. Many birds can survive
an amputation but any resulting infection will usually prove fatal.
Congenital deformities involving extra or missing toes are rare and
gross abnormalities, such as an extra leg, do not survive."
whether this sort of handicap will affect the
pigeon's ability to survive, this is likely to be determined by the
competitiveness of the environment. If food is plentiful and predators
are few, an injured pigeon may do quite well
The deformities on pigeons' feet are caused by infection with
Staphylococcus. The common name for the condition is bumble-foot. The
bacteria, which are present on the skin and in the pigeons' droppings,
get into the foot through cracks in the skin and eventually cause
tendinitis, arthritis and joint abscesses. The condition in feral
pigeons is incurable.
The life of an urban birdis not an easy one; pigeons can acquire deformed feet in several ways.
The main causes are diseases ("pigeon pox" or "bumble-foot") and
injury from entanglement in synthetic threads such as fishing line.
I see what you mean.