Angel Wings Syndrome

Angel Wings Syndrome is most commonly seen in waterbirds that have been fed an inappropriate diet containing too much bread.

This is the first time I have seen it in a gull - in this case a juvenile herring gull.

In Angel Wings Syndrome, the development of the skeleton lags behind the development of the skin and feathers.  The weight of the feathers causes distortion and rotation of the wrist joint resulting in the bird being unable to fold its wings away and also renders it unable to fly.

This gull seems to be surviving on handouts from visitors to the car park.  It is able to flap its wings enough to generate sufficient lift to move amongst the boulders around the car park.  I first noticed it about 10 days ago but has probably been around for much longer as it has such reduced mobility.