KC Tsang went for a walk on the morning of 29th July 2008 “and found this Brown BooBook (Brown Hawk Owl, Ninox scutulata) with this unusual lump/growth just beneath his left eye (below). The bird seems quite healthy at the moment, however what could be the possible cause for this condition?
“Maybe a veterinarian would be able to tell us more about the kind of illness birds would face in the wild…”
We sent the images to Dr Gloria Chay, our consultant veterinarian and she replied: “Possibly a tumour like a papilloma, possibly even an abscess but it looks too cauliflorous and mobile to be an abscess. Don’t look like Pox virus as it produces smaller lumps and in greater numbers.”
Well, I suppose KC needs to bring his BooBook to the vet for a more detailed examination.
Note:
Papilloma refers to a benign epithelial tumor forming a rounded or lobed mass. Abscess is a localised collection of pus usually formed by bacterial infection. Avian pox virus infection is relatively common in certain species of birds. It can be transmitted by mosquitoes.
2 Responses
That really doesn’t look inflamed or taut enough to be an abscess. It really does look like a fibroid tumor of some sort originating in the membrane around the eye. I hope he gets better soon.
Donald from Mallenders and Sallenders