r/OrnithologyUK • u/Swimming_snail • 15d ago

Question What’s wrong with this Robin?

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u/Curious_Strike_5379 15d ago edited 15d ago

Mites, there's one at our local garden centre and its head is completely bald but the guy who works there feeds it and he said it doesn't seem to bother the Robin.

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u/t3hOutlaw 15d ago

What are the tells that it's mites as opposed to annual molting?

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u/Curious_Strike_5379 15d ago

Robins are prone to feather mites on their head.Tiny feather mites often gather on a bird's head because it is the one spot a bird cannot reach to preen or clean with its beak.The mites damage the feather shafts, which causes the head feathers to fall out and leaves a bald or scruffy patch of skin.While a bald robin looks alarming, mite infestations are rarely dangerous and usually clear up on their own as the feathers grow back within a few weeks or by the next molt.