Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Chiffchaff with Deformed Bill

The Chiffchaff video that I posted on You Tube had a clip of a bird with, what looked like a deformed bill, ( http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBaldIbis#p/c/28C2E00156683969/25/XsCyuHfYdSY ) or possibly a thorn sticking to the bill base. A recent reply from a Portugese birder suggests that these are gummed up feathers due to the bird feeding on nectar. The phenomenon has been observed in Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps feeding on Eucalyptus nectar. The Chiffchaff in question was filmed at EGP, I suspect, within days of it arriving here. Had this bird been feeding up on nectar prior to arriving here? SB reported tits feeding on Plum blossom Nectar recently, so this behaviour seems to be not that unusual.

1 comment:

Steve Blacksmith said...

I once found what I thought was a new species on my travels. Like a blackcap, but with a red face like a goldfinch (perhaps not so bright).
As I watched it I realised it was feeding from large holes in the top of red prickly pear fruits (the cactus - it is naturalised in parts of West Africa) so its face was getting stained red. It was a blackcap! Still nice to see on its wintering ground.