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Marsha White
Salmon, ID, USA
I have seen a House finch adult with eye conjunctivitus before where the eye and surrounding area is weepy, its nearby feathers are wet and/or the feathers around the affected eye are mashed or stuck down. Sometimes there’s a bloody or other colored discharge from the eye as well. However, this goldfinch did not show such symptoms. To me, the eye appeared to be covered by this light-colored eyelid skin 100% of the time. But I could be very wrong. This was the first time I’ve seen a finch species at my feeders with an eyeball that looked so odd, as if its eye was just permanently closed.
I’d sure appreciate any feedback from other birders seeing this anomaly or from PFW folks. Thanks.
Eye problems
This American goldfinch male has some sort of eye anomaly. At first guess, I thought it was eye conjunctivitus when I looked at my photos on my computer screen. However, it almost seems that the eyelid is closed over the eye, so I'm not sure exactly what the eye problem is, but it left the goldfinch acting very jumpy at other bird movement while it rested in the aspen tree pictured.
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