Following Jeff MacQueen's UVB report of earlier today: Peculiar growths of bills in birds have recently been a research area receiving major attention. Scroll down to see photos of red-breasted nuthatches at http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/beak_deformity/gallery.html General account on topic: http://feederwatch.org/learn/articles/deformed-bills-alaska/ Research studies by a leading investigator of bill deformities: http://alaska.usgs.gov/staff/staffbio.php?employeeid=152 See publications list, e.g., Handel and Van Hemert 2015, Van Hemert et al. 2013, Van Hemert et al. 2012a, Van Hemert et al. 2012b, Van Hemert 2012c, Handel et al. 2010, Van Hemert and Handel 2010 In Britain: http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/about/background/projects/bgbw/extra and especially http://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/u23/downloads/publications/bird-table /bt65_lr_20-21.pdf George Clark Norwich, VT **************************************************************** To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html ****************************************************************