Western Scrub Jay with Bill Deformity
by Bryce W. Robinson
My friend Mitch Tall sent me this image today of a Western Scrub Jay that he photographed in Salt Lake City, Utah. He wanted to know if I had any insight into what was wrong with this bald bird. I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to bird maladies, however, I quickly noticed the elongated growth in the bill. Some birds have a disorder where their bills grow continuously throughout their lives. My friend Ron Dudley has documented several birds with related issues (See photos here). I’d be confident stating that stress related to the deformity is why the Scrub Jay is lacking feathers on its head. Still, I wonder if something such as mange is to blame, compounded by the health issues caused by the bill deformity.
I’d love to hear some ideas from those who have more knowledge on this issue than I. In the meantime, I’ll be researching some possibilities in hopes of having an answer for Mitch. Thanks again for sharing these Mitch, and kudos on the great photography.
ornithologi.com 
poor bird,
Bryce, on one of my posts on the Red-tailed Hawk I spotted here in Utah with long-billed syndrome Bud Anderson mentions getting the date and location and report it to Collen Handel at the Alaska Biological Center or to him at falconresearch@gmail.com. This jay does look like it has some type of bill issues. The loss of feathers on the head may be caused by mites (dirty feed stations perhaps?).
You can read more of what Bud Anderson wrote about long-billed syndrome on my Red-tailed Hawk posts: http://onthewingphotography.com/wings/2011/11/06/red-tailed-hawk-with-possible-long-bill-syndrome/
Thanks Mia. I’ll shoot them an email. Mites from a dirty feed station, and the inability to preen due to the long bill makes perfect sense.
Most welcome. (Not sure what happened to the formatting m=in my last line above)
I also wonder if this bird isn’t frequenting feed stations more than foraging in the “wild” because the food is easier to eat at the food stations. Wouldn’t have to crack open seeds, etc.
I wish I had seen this sooner. I saw several towhee’s (California’s) in the field today on a run that scared the heck out of me, as they didn’t have any feathers on their head or necks either. I don’t know about the bill deformity as I didn’t get a close enough look, but I’ll head back out there the next chance I get to see them again. Is this a normal thing? I was thinking not, but who knows…