Greenfinch with a tick
I was photographing birds in my garden yesterday and I noticed that this male Greenfinch had a blood-sucking tick attached to his cheek. I have seen very few bird ticks, either in the wild or in other's photographs, so I thought it was worth uploading. I'm no expert on ticks but this is very likely to be "Ixodes frontalis" also known as the Passerine Tick (Passerines are songbirds). Its scientific name is interesting too as Ixodes means like Mistletoe, as ticks generally are a similar size and colour to Mistletoe berries. Frontalis means of the front, because they are usually only found on the face or head of birds. And that is because birds' beaks are extremely good at removing ticks, apart from on the parts they can't reach, like the face. There are about 20 species of ticks in Britain and according to Bristol University www.bristoluniversitytickid.uk/page/Ixodes+frontalis/36/#... this species has been reported on "Swallow, tit, warbler, thrush, pigeon, crow, rail, collared dove, turtle dove and badgers (occasionally)". I also saw a paper in Germany that reported it in Blackbirds (which are a thrush) and captive Harris's Hawk. The distribution of the Passerine Tick states "South East England, West and North coast England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain, Italy. Generally found in birds nest in coniferous/deciduous woodland, parks and gardens." So this report on a finch, a long way from any coast in northern England might be quite an interesting record. Ticks can carry diseases, most famously Lyme Disease, and this species also has associated pathogens. And despite having plumage in beautiful condition, this Greenfinch did not look especially healthy.
Greenfinch with a tick
I was photographing birds in my garden yesterday and I noticed that this male Greenfinch had a blood-sucking tick attached to his cheek. I have seen very few bird ticks, either in the wild or in other's photographs, so I thought it was worth uploading. I'm no expert on ticks but this is very likely to be "Ixodes frontalis" also known as the Passerine Tick (Passerines are songbirds). Its scientific name is interesting too as Ixodes means like Mistletoe, as ticks generally are a similar size and colour to Mistletoe berries. Frontalis means of the front, because they are usually only found on the face or head of birds. And that is because birds' beaks are extremely good at removing ticks, apart from on the parts they can't reach, like the face. There are about 20 species of ticks in Britain and according to Bristol University www.bristoluniversitytickid.uk/page/Ixodes+frontalis/36/#... this species has been reported on "Swallow, tit, warbler, thrush, pigeon, crow, rail, collared dove, turtle dove and badgers (occasionally)". I also saw a paper in Germany that reported it in Blackbirds (which are a thrush) and captive Harris's Hawk. The distribution of the Passerine Tick states "South East England, West and North coast England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain, Italy. Generally found in birds nest in coniferous/deciduous woodland, parks and gardens." So this report on a finch, a long way from any coast in northern England might be quite an interesting record. Ticks can carry diseases, most famously Lyme Disease, and this species also has associated pathogens. And despite having plumage in beautiful condition, this Greenfinch did not look especially healthy.