Birds of prey

Infectious and non-infectious diseases affect raptors around the globe. This chapter aims to describe and illustrate the most important disease entities in raptors. While anthropogenic accidental and malicious trauma and emaciation are the most common causes of death across species, malicious or inadvertent poisoning of vultures and other raptors and a variety of viral (e.g., avian pox, West Nile virus, and Newcastle’s disease) and protozoal diseases regularly cause disease and death in free ranging raptors. Prey is a common source of both toxins and infectious pathogens in these top predators. Furthermore, endoparasites and ectoparasites are common in free ranging raptors. Aspergillosis, gout, and staphylococcal pododermatitis are common in raptors in captivity; protozoal diseases of nonendemic raptors (e.g., malaria) and nutritional diseases including obesity and atherosclerosis are also frequent in the captive settings. Bacterial, congenital, and neoplastic diseases are of a sporadic nature.