Pigeon with ticks

I have just got around to looking at the pictures I took of a poorly pigeon in the garden. I almost wished I hadn't, this is the only cropped image I feel I can put on Flickr as some of the others are too awful.

 

I am assuming they are ticks and they had done far more damage to the other side of the pigeons head. I had thought it had been attacked by a bird of prey, when I took these pictures and had survived as it limped away.

Done