This lovely Chaffinch was one of the little birds that came to feed on some seed I’d sprinkled on and around a tree stump in a local woodland last week, and I couldn’t help but notice that the poor thing was suffering from swollen and scabby looking legs. According to the British Trust for Ornithology website, there could be several reasons for this: ‘mites of the genus Knemidocoptes‘; the virus Fringilla papillomavirus, which causes growths that look a bit like warts and affects Chaffinches and Bramblings; and bacterial infections. From the BTO’s description, this particular Chaffinch appears to be suffering from the ‘scaly legs’ caused by mites. The possibility of spreading diseases like these is why anyone who feeds birds in their garden should regularly and thoroughly clean their feeders to prevent cross-infection.