Lead poisoning was demonstrated in two gray-headed woodpeckers (Picus canus) and one white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopus leucotos) in Sweden; they had liver lead levels between 9.4 and 26.2 mg−1 wet weight. At necropsy one gray-headed woodpecker showed signs of emaciation and the other one had severe traumatic injuries, caused by a cat. The white-backed woodpecker died in the transportation box during a translocation program. The source of the lead could not be determined, but it was suspected that it may have originated from lead pellets shot into trees and picked out by the woodpeckers during food search.
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1 October 1999
Lead Poisoning in Woodpeckers in Sweden
Torsten Mörner,
Lars Petersson
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 35 • No. 4
October 1999
Vol. 35 • No. 4
October 1999
Dendrocopus leucotos
gray-headed woodpecker
lead poisoning
Picus canus
White-backed Woodpecker