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Archive Case #190: Avian Trichomoniasis

Bird veterinary case - Easy - September 9, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. A pigeon is presented for difficulty swallowing and progressive weight loss.
  2. The owner reports wet feathers around the beak and repeated attempts to swallow.
  3. On oral examination there are yellow caseous plaques in the mouth and throat.
  4. The bird has halitosis and cannot pass food normally.
  5. Microscopic examination of a fresh sample reveals motile flagellated protozoa.
  6. Trichomoniasis in birds commonly causes caseous oral lesions known as canker.

Diagnosis

Avian Trichomoniasis

This case is most consistent with Avian Trichomoniasis because the bird has classic oral plaques with fresh-sample identification of motile protozoa. The most important clues are the caseous mouth lesions and dysphagia, which make a simple crop impaction less likely.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this bird case supports the provided diagnosis, Avian Trichomoniasis, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: A pigeon is presented for difficulty swallowing and progressive weight loss.
  2. Clue 2: The owner reports wet feathers around the beak and repeated attempts to swallow.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: On oral examination there are yellow caseous plaques in the mouth and throat.
  2. Clue 4: The bird has halitosis and cannot pass food normally.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: Microscopic examination of a fresh sample reveals motile flagellated protozoa.
  2. Clue 6: Trichomoniasis in birds commonly causes caseous oral lesions known as canker.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this bird case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Avian Trichomoniasis?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Avian Trichomoniasis?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.