Oral Capillariasis in Sharp-shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus) During Fall and Spring Migration Available to Purchase

Unusual oral lesions were documented in migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus) during spring migration in 2016 in New York, USA. The lesions were caused by Eucoleus dispar, a nematode common in the intestinal tracts of many raptor species but not in the oral cavity. We developed a formal data collection protocol and shared it with collaborating North American raptor banding stations to document this capillariasis (clinical parasitic infection by nematodes) in migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks. Using this protocol, we detected the infection at multiple banding stations at variable rates. We found that the infection rates were higher in females than males, and do not appear to impact individual mass. We aim to continue examining and monitoring raptors for lesions during raptor migration and to assess any potential impact oral capillariasis has on raptor populations.