Do you have House Finches or American Goldfinches at your feeders?           

Then sign up for the House Finch Disease Survey!

The House Finch Disease Survey is an unprecedented opportunity for you to help researchers track the spread of an infectious disease in a wildlife population.

The survey is easy to do: participants record the visits of House Finches and American Goldfinches at their feeders and the occurrence of diseased birds, and then send their data to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  In doing so, they help scientists document the occurrence and spread of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in the United States and Canada (view map showing the prevalence of the disease since it was first observed).

Your observations are needed so that we may better understand this avian disease.

What do birds with conjunctivitis look like?
Go to our Photo Gallery to find out.

Seen a sick bird and want to report it? Join the House Finch Disease Survey. We can only officially take reports of disease from participants who submit data to us on a semi-regular basis via the House Finch Disease Survey.  This is a precaution to ensure that we accurately report disease prevalence (proportion of infected birds in the population).  If we take single reports of infection, then it appears that 100% of birds at that location are infected. 

(photos above by Phil Musta)