Documentation of avian deformities in Algeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30456/avo.28753Keywords:
Aberration, Passeriformes, melanism, abnormal beaks, leucism, environmental health indicators, albinismAbstract
Elevated occurrences of major deformities in wildlife populations are frequently seen as signs of deeper environmental health issues. This study represents the first comprehensive effort to document avian deformities in Algeria, including abnormal beaks and colours, leucism, al-binism, and melanism. Notably, some of the observed beak deformities may be indicative of underlying pathological conditions, such as Avian Keratin Disorder (AKD). Over ten years, 50 cases of deformities were documented in 20 provinces. Cases belonged to thirty species, eighteen families and ten orders. Leucism, both partial and complete, was the most common aberration, detected in 34 cases, with partial leucism being most frequent (n = 23). Albinism and melanism were rare and observed in one and two cases, respectively. Passeriformes ex-hibited the highest number of deformities, particularly the House Sparrow Passer domesticus(n = 5) and the Common Blackbird Turdus merula (n = 3). Additionally, multiple cases of leu-cism were observed in the Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto (n = 6). Abnormal beaks were observed in 13 cases, including conditions such as crossed mandibles, elongated mandibles, and misaligned beaks, which might significantly impact the birds' ability to feed and groom effectively. Notably, deformities were recorded in both resident (23) and migratory (7) species, with a significantly higher number of cases observed in resident species. This study highlights the importance of continuous monitoring and further research to understand the underlying causes of these deformities and their implications for avian conservation in Algeria.
Note: Version 2 fixes title, abstract and keywords, bringing them into line with those in the PDF.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mohamed Belkacem, Belkacem Aimene Boulaouad, Mohamed Mairif, Tayeb Djetti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2025-11-15
Published 2026-02-02
