James Harris, DVM
Tail bobbing indicates serious illness
 I have a white-fronted Amazon about 25 to 30 months old. In the past six months it has been breathing using an open beak with outstretched neck or bobbing tail - not all the time, just a few times during the day. The bird doesn't seem bothered by it. Sometimes it sneezes three to four times a day.
-- Angela Turford
 Open beak breathing, excessive sneezing and tail bobbing all are signs of respiratory disease. The bird is opening his beak because he probably has an irritated throat or is having a difficult time breathing. Sneezing suggests his nasal passages and sinuses are irritated, too.
But the tail bobbing is the most distressing symptom. Remember, birds don't have diaphragms to seperate the chest from the abdomen, and their lungs are not elastic and expandable. Air moves through the lungs into thin-walled air sacs and back out again aided by a combination of movement of the ribs, the muscles of the abdomen and the bird's tail. In healthy birds, the tail barely moves - you have to watch very closely to see it raise and lower as it assists breathing. When the bird is having trouble moving air through the respiratory tract, the tail works harder, noticeably bobbing. Your bird needs to see an avian veterinarian as soon as possible.
James Harris, DVM is owner and medical director of the Mayfair Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia. He founded Montclair Veterinary Hospital in Oakland, Calif., and has served as medical director and chairman of the board for the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Berkeley. Dr. Harris' numerous professional honors include California and National Bustad Companion Animal DVM Awards.
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