Radiographic Evaluation of Cardiac Size in Four Falconiform Species

Abstract

To establish reference values for the cardiac size during radiographic examination in 4 species of Falconiformes used for falconry, lateral and ventrodorsal radiographs were examined from healthy birds of 4 species: Harris' hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) (n = 48), peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) (n = 35), saker falcons (Falco cherrug) (n = 19), and lanner falcons (Falco biarmicus) (n = 13). On the lateral view, ratios between the length of the heart from base to apex and total length of the carina were calculated. On the ventrodorsal view, ratios between the width of the heart at its widest point and the distance between the ribs at the same level and between the width of the coracoid immediately caudal to the humeral articular surface in the shoulder joint and width of the heart and the distance between the ribs were calculated. No differences were found between species in the ratio of length of the heart/length of the carina. The ratios of width of the heart/distance between ribs and width of the heart/coracoid width differed between hawks and falcons but did not differ between the 3 falcon species.

Radiographic Measurements of the Cardiac Silhouette and Comparison with Other Radiographic Landmarks in Wild Galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla)

“…Beaufrère and Fitzgerald describe the larger hearts of wild cockatoos com-pared with captive species as sign of their cardiac fitness [19]. The falcon species studied in previous studies showed generally larger cardiac width than parrot species [6,9,13]. In Mirshahi et al [4] the width of the heart in wild common kestrels was larger compared to other falcon species, and in our study, our measured heart width was larger compared to that in other parrot species.…”

“…In non-parrot species, the cardiac/thoracic width ratio showed considerable variation. It is reported to be 45-59% in Humboldt penguins [8], 66-72% in saker falcons [9], 54-61% in Harris's hawks [9], 66-74% in peregrine falcons [9], 65-72% in lanner falcons [9], 48-57% in Bonelli's eagle [15], 67-69% in ospreys, 44-52% in bald eagles and 51-75% in common kestrels [4].…”

“…The correlations measured between the heart size and stable points in the body could be used to direct the practitioner and identify alterations in heart size. A correlation between the width of the cardiac silhouette and the width of the cranial coelom could be found in most of the studied species [5,6,9,10,14,15]; however, coracoid and heart width were only correlated in a few species [6,9,15].…”

“…To improve the accuracy of the diagnosis, many studies have attempted to establish reference values of the cardiac silhouette in different avian species, including African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), Senegal parrots (Poicephalus senegalus), orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica), blue-fronted Amazon parrots (Amazona aestiva), budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), Spix's macaws (Cyanopsitta spixii), peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), Harris's hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus), saker falcons (Falco cherrug), lanner falcons (Falco biarmicus), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), screech owls (Otus asio), Canada geese (Branta canadensis), common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus), Bonelli's eagles (Aquila fasciata), and Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. The correlations measured between the heart size and stable points in the body could be used to direct the practitioner and identify alterations in heart size.…”

Evaluation of diagnostic criteria in grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) with suspected atherosclerosis

“…In a total of 7 parrots in the patient group, both total cholesterol and triglycerides were elevated (no. 19,21,22,24,29,35,39).…”