Captain Beaky

Amazing...
Well done, Wagger on helping this little bird. :o)

That must have taken you 10 seconds to find that, Terra - how do you do it? lol

aww wagger im almost in tears watching this little bird, how do they manage to eat with such a long beak,, so sad, glad he is doing well, glad he has you to keep him fed wagger ;o))

Oh wow ! He seems to be enjoying lunch. Well done Wagger

He pokes the food around with his long bill until he finds the piece he wants then tips his head to one side to pick it up. If it's too big to eat in one swallow he flies off to a branch where he can peck it from his feet with his beak having free air to move - it's very clever and fascinating to watch. He seems to be having a normal life in spite of his disability.

Ohhh dear :-(((
I wonder if it could be 'operated' on ??
I'm thinking of how they grind rabbits teeth, file deformed donkeys hooves etc. etc. ..... this looks SO sad :-(((

Lovely photo Wagger. I think he would be better off with a bad woman though.

How would you catch him, Louise? I think the shock of that could kill him - best left where he is, he's around every day and doing ok.
I agree, Toto - that's assuming it is a 'he' - could be a 'she' and I don't think she'd be better off with a bad man.

I agree Wagger I am a bad man and bad men are not nice.

LOL

awww what a shame ,but must be ok with it as it is eating...:o(

Well, it's been here for about nine months now, Joanella so hopefully it will continue to be ok.

Fascinating ! Wagger, is it just the upper mandible that's deformed, or both ?

The RSPB/RSPCA have ways of catching them in nets, i've seen it on tv, then they do the surgery and release them back where they were caught.

It's hard to tell, Muddy, if I enlarge the picture it looks as though the main deformity is the upper mandible but the lower looks to be two or three times the normal length. There's a picture of one with badly deformed upper and lower on http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/03/02/another-freaky-beak/
It seems to be doing so well, Louise it might be best to leave it as it is. It doesn't seem to cause it any distress and it mixes with the other birds ok.

just looked at link wagger, its so sad and something i had never thought about before, isnt life cruel at times

How sad Wagger, mind you I read about one just like that in the paper last year. It said that it coped just as well as its normal beaked friends. I hope your will continue to manage well.

Sandra x

Yes, it is, Sandra. We see it often with people but never really think of it applying to animals - they normally don't survive so we don't see them.
It's coped well so far, Second Sandra to yes, we hope it will continue to do so.

Never imagined or heard of this problem before. So glad you are aware of his difficulties and are on hand to help out. I think you're right that he/she is best left alone if managing to feed and cope.

Amazing photos...and great to see the little bird surviving...I think that with all the variation of foods that people put out to feed birds now there will surely be somehting he can survive on, even if he has to adapt his diet.

We mince peanuts up and crush fatballs so he gets quite a variety. Another one I read about a woman is feeding with fried bread - don't know how balanced that is.

Guess he is not frightened off by your lovely cat? See my latest picture updated of mine taking residence in the bird house!

Oh poor little thing. I wonder if it could be trimmed....you can trim budgie's beaks.
Well, I guess he is just the Cyrano de Bergerac of the birdie world

I've just had a thought! Are you sure it has a deformed beak rather than a deformed body. Everone seems to be assuming that he is a bluetit with a long, curly beak, are you sure that he is not a curlew with an odd body!

Misty is too old to frighten the birds now, Andrea - they treat her with contempt.
Gilli, I think it would be worse for him/her to be caught - he/she copes very well.
Toto, you could have a point - I'll ask him next time I see him, :-))))

Poor little thing but at least your there for him.

Fantastic close-ups !

Yes we are, Clarice and will carry on feeding it - and all the others, lol.
Thanks, TLG - first time I've tried digital zoom on top of optical zoom - works well on top quality.

If you do decide to catch him (though I dont fancy your chances) try to get him dark as quickly as possible. I once caught a bird that had gone a bit mad in a tea shop by throwing my jumper over it. I knew the theory but was still shocked at how they just play dead untill they are back in the sunshine. It stops them hurting themselves.

ps I think its a humming bird with a bad feather day.

Poor thing, not seen anything like it before, as everyone says....at least it has you to watch over it...