Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter Australian town

[kiwibird]

Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter Australian townAFP
June 2, 2010, 5:45 pm 6 CommentsSend


SYDNEY (AFP) - Hundreds of seemingly drunk parrots are falling out of trees and the sky in a northern Australian town, mystifying veterinary surgeons who are struggling to care for them.

The brightly coloured lorikeets are showing classic signs of drunkenness by losing all coordination and passing out, and then cowering in cages as they recover from their "hangovers".

"They definitely seem like they're drunk," said Lisa Hansen, a veterinary surgeon at the Ark Animal Hospital in Palmerston, near Darwin.

"They fall out of trees... and they're not so coordinated as they would normally be. They go to jump and they miss the next perch."

Hansen said nobody was sure what was causing the symptoms, although it may be a plant they are eating. Other theories include an outbreak of a mystery virus.

She said the hospital, which is seeking donations, was caring for about 30 birds at a time with eight arriving each day after being scooped up from lawns and roadsides.

The birds are given sweetened porridge and fresh fruit -- the avian version of hangover food.

"It's probably the equivalent of ice-cream and cans of coke for the lorikeets," Hansen told AFP on Wednesday.

"They sit on the floor of the cage and rest their heads on the side, or they curl up in the corner and hide under the paper and block the rest of the world out."

Hansen said "drunk" lorikeets have been seen in Palmerston previously but never in such numbers, adding that the birds can die without proper care

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/7333004/mystery-as-drunk-parrots-litter-australian-town/

 

[kiwibird]

Re: Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter Australian town

(Other end of the country to the above report

DSE to investigate bird deaths
BY ADELE HOLLAND
09 Jun, 2010 10:15 AM
THE Department of Sustainability and Environment is investigating mysterious bird deaths in the Wimmera.

Department biodiversity officer Glenn Rudolph said dead galahs, corellas and top- knot pigeons were reported.

Mr Rudolph collected a dozen dead galahs from along Natimuk Creek yesterday.


"It looks like they have died in the last day and a half. We've done an initial autopsy and it's a bit inconclusive so we've sent them away to get tested for a variety of things like diseases and toxicology," he said.


Mr Rudolph said the Natimuk birds were the fourth case of bird deaths in the area in the past couple of weeks.


"There were some corellas found along the Wimmera River in Horsham and we've had some more corellas out near Vectis and some top-knot pigeons in town," he said. "They all seem to be a bit isolated from each other so we're currently investigating those too.


"In the first lot of corellas down near the river the initial autopsy is suggesting death from acute toxicity which could be a poison, but we don't know exactly what it is or where it has come from."


Mr Rudolph said he hoped to get autopsy results by early next week.


Mildura couple Marion and Peter Lang found dead birds in Natimuk early on Monday.


"We found dead birds along Natimuk Creek from one end of town to the other," Mrs Lang said.


Natimuk Urban Landcare secretary and wildlife carer Heather Phillips said she suspected the deaths could have been from birds eating mouse bait used to protect crops.


She said if this was the case, mouse baiting had the potential to create a major wildlife problem in the Wimmera.


Ms Phillips said she had a bird delivered to her on Sunday which had a white milky substance coming from its beak. It died soon after.


She said the galah deaths coincided with farmers putting out mouse bait.


"Without toxicology tests done we can't be 100 per cent sure of that but it's a particularly lethal product called Mouseoff, which is zinc phosphide," she said.


"I've spoken to a couple of different vets and they've told me that in dogs and cats it creates a gastro-intestinal irritation. I'm yet to find out exactly what the symptoms are in birds, other than death."

Ms Phillips said the poison had the potential to kill birds of prey when they ate mice.

"They're the ones that keep future mouse numbers significantly down, so farmers are inadvertently killing birds of prey. In coming years it means a minor mouse infestation could become a major one without the natural controls," she said.

Ms Phillips said farmers were in a difficult situation because after a few bad seasons they could not afford to risk not having a crop this year.

Mr Rudolph said it was possible mouse bait was the cause of the poisoning.

"Until we find out what's happening, people should be careful that their pets don't pick up dead birds because it could be quite toxic," he said.



http://www.mailtimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/dse-to-investigate-bird-deaths/1853513.aspx