Lead Doesn't Just Kill Birds, It Scrambles Everything Key To Survival

"NORTH GRAFTON, Mass. – By the time the veterinarian saw the Canada goose, it was starving. Lumpy bulges ran the length of its neck, from its white chinstrap to its shrunken breast. It was too weak to squabble – so sluggish, in fact, that the veterinarian could scoop up the goose and move it to the stainless steel table without throwing a blanket over it.

A team of four rushed in to treat the goose, flushing a bucketful of sand from its esophagus. But X-rays of its digestive tract bore out another problem – tiny flecks in the sand. A blood test confirmed the veterinarian’s suspicions: lead poisoning. The goose had eaten sand laced with lead at a pond near Boston.

It's well-known that high levels of lead kill birds. But now it's becoming clear that amounts commonly encountered by waterfowl and raptors can mess up their digestion, brains, hearts, vision and other body processes critical for their survival in the wild."

Lindsey Konkel reports for Environmental Health News September 10, 2014, in part 9 of its "Winged Warnings" series, published in conjunction with National Geographic.

SEE ALSO:

"Winged Warmings: What Birds Are Telling Us About Our Planet's Health" (EHN Series Portal)