[MarlaSurf]

I'm new to the forum, and happy to find a place to chat with other birders!

I could use your help. I live in Northern California. I've been feeding a very gregarious and noisy flock of house finches (linnets) for the past few months. I've really gotten a kick out of watching them court and fight and bring their new babies to the feeder. (It's even more fun than watching my human relatives court and fight and bring their new babies to my house for dinner...)

However, I think there is a health problem. One of the birds (a bright-red regular I've named Brad) accidentally flew into the house today (whoops!) and couldn't get out. I carefully captured him and carried him over to the window to let him out.

I noticed several things: Brad was breathing with his mouth open. He was making a clicking noise in his throat. The top part of his beak was a little rough/crusty. There were tiny black bugs on my hands (ugh) when I released him. He flew away, seemingly none the worse for wear, and was back eating at the feeder within minutes. But now I'm worried about him.

I keep the feeder and water very clean, and bleach them out every few days. I should also mention that I know about house finch conjunctivitis, and there was nothing wrong with his eyes. Also, he's a healthy weight, he's eating well, and he's not acting listless.

What's wrong with Brad? What should I do about it? Any help with diagnosis and advice for treatment would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and Brad thanks you, too

[Bluetail]

Hi MarlaSurf and wlecome. I hope someone will be along with an answer to your problem. I'm no expert on such things, but I wonder whether there's anything wrong. Many (most?) birds carry parasites without any harm. His breathing may well have been a sign of stress at being trapped in your house and picked up. I can't explain the crusty bill, but some parasites can affect bill growth. If the bird is not in obvious distress now I think I'd let nature take its course.

[Katy Penland]

I'd agree with everything Jason said. The crusty bill could also have been simple seed/bug residue from feeding before he flew into your house. I've noticed our flock of house finches are pretty messy eaters and frequently take breaks to fly up into a tree to scrape off their beaks before dropping back into the yard, er, trough, to start munching again. Sounds like you have a perfectly healthy male house finch.