Congenital neuropathy and dilution of feather melanin in nestlings of urban-breeding northern goshawks ( Accipiter gentilis )

• Main Authors: Rutz, C, Zinke, A, Bartels, T, Wohlsein, P
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: northern goshawk; Accipiter gentilis; adendritic melanocytes; congenital neuropathy; hereditary disease; inbreeding depression; MUTATION; Northern Goshawk
• Online Access: https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/congenital-neuropathy-and-dilution-of-feather-melanin-in-nestlings-of-urbanbreeding-northern-goshawks-accipiter-gentilis(e7fe8d14-70d8-4c43-a1fd-2f98f8749e99).html

A pair of northern goshawks ( Accipiter gentilis ) breeding in a public park in the city center of Hamburg, Germany, raised 12 healthy and five aberrant offspring between 1996 and 2000. Aberrant nestlings (three males and two females) had pale silver-blue plumage and displayed severe locomotor disorders. Histopathologically, the defects were characterized by adendritic feather melanocytes and mild degeneration of the cerebellar white matter. Epidemiologic results were suggestive of a hereditary autosomal recessive defect, which may have originated from close inbreeding during the foundation of Hamburg's urban population of northern goshawks.