This is Pappy, a budgerigar suffering from mange of the horny tissues — the beak and the skin of the legs. The scientific name of this type of mange in birds is knemidokoptosis; the disease is contagious and spreads between birds living together. Stress factors make the disease more likely to appear. The diagnosis is based on the clinical signs — crusts and cauliflower-like growths on the featherless skin around the eyes, nostrils and legs, and deformation of the beak. The disease must be distinguished from fungal infection and abnormal beak growth, which is done by microscopic examination — finding the specific microscopic mites in samples from the affected areas. The microscope photo shows the mite’s round body and small legs greatly magnified: see here. Treatment combines external and internal antiparasitic medication. Prevention consists in carefully selecting healthy birds; newly acquired birds should be kept separately for a few days and observed for clinical signs.
