Q&A
Q I have recently seen posts on some Facebook sites warning of avian pox. Is this something I need to worry about with my canaries and other finches and diamond doves, which I keep in an outside aviary? It's not something I've really heard much about.
: Avian pox is caused by a virus and there have been sporadic cases affecting British garden birds overyears. As with other viruses, there are different strains of the illness. Some strains are particularly species-specific whereas others affect a greater range of Tragic victims: Scots, Fife and Norwich canaries, all killed by avian pox Photo: Jay Bunker birds. British bird species that have been recorded as being affected include dunnocks and woodpigeons. More recently, since 2006, members of the tit family have been observed to have been affected and in particular the great tit.
