In article ,
David Hill wrote:
On 17/10/2013 10:58, Bertie Doe wrote:

Had this Blue Tit on the feeder just now,
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps18fab201.jpg

All the others are normal sized, but this one was all fluffed up and
seems to have a growth on it's head, or it could be a tick.
Any ideas?

It could be avian pox. There's a link to report it on the BTO website.

I've xposted to uk.rec.birdwatching, for obs etc.

/I posted to BTO and to Garden Wildlife Health | Monitoring the health of
/Garden Wildlife
/Tick is the agreed probability

It's the first example I've seen. Don't suppose it's survivable.

I don't know. Ticks will drop off when fully fed so It may be lucky.
I just can't understand how it got it, Tits are not ground feeders and I
don't think ticks climb trees and bushes..

They can, though normally they climb grass stems etc. The tit
could have been collecting nesting material, drinking water or
whatever. It is unlikely that the tick itself will kill even a
bird as small as a tit.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.