Another Black-capped Chickadee with a deformed bill is being seen in Minnesota. This bird is coming to feeders at the Duluth home of author/birder/blogger Laura Erickson.
The bird previously mentioned here was seen in Maple Grove in February. These two join several other reports of Minnesota birds with this deformity (photo below by Laura Erickson), including more chickadees.
If you see such a bird, any species with a deformed bill, please report it to http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/beak_deformity/observerreport.php
Biologists at U.S. Geological Survey offices in Alaska are tracking these sightings. Several thousand birds with this deformity have been reported in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest in the past several years. Reason for the deformities, unknown at present, is being sought.
