Do Wood pigeons carry diseases?
The answer is yes. Wood Pigeons commonly carry ‘Frounce’ (Trichomoniasis). This is a highly contagious disease the protazoa of which lives in the throat and generally the respitatory system of the bird. Most pigeons carry this although will probably never exhibit the symptoms which can generally be seen as a thick white or yellow musous in the mouth, or swellings around the facial area. This is not dangerous to humans but is dangerous to other birds, particularly hawks who prey on wood pigeon and to a lesser extent chickens who come into contact with wood pigeons. I have seen pigeons with frounce, the best way to describe it is as the myxamotosis of the bird world in terms of what the bird can show in its symptoms. Hope this helps!
