Alaska Beak Deformity Observations

As part of the USGS Ecosystems mission to assess the status and trends of the Nation's biological resources, the Alaska Science Center Landbird Program conducts research on avian populations within Alaska. Beginning in the late 1990s, an outbreak of beak deformities in Black-capped Chickadees emerged in south central Alaska. USGS scientists launched a study to understand the scope of this problem and its effect on wild birds. Since that time, researchers have gathered important information about the deformities but their cause still remains unknown. Members of the public provide observation reports of birds with deformities from around Alaska and other regions of North America. These reports are very important in that they allow researchers to determine the geographical distribution and species affected. Data collection over such a large and remote area would not be possible without the public’s assistance.

The latest form for Alaska Beak Deformity Observations expires 2022-12-31 and can be found here.