Experimental inoculation of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) with Mycobacterium bovis

The purpose of this series of pilot studies was to determine whether the pa sserine species studied are susceptible to infection with Mycobacterium bov is. Separate experiments were conducted on wild-caught starlings (Sturnus v ulgaris) and American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). In each experiment, fo ur birds were challenged intraperitoneally and four were challenged orally with microorganisms. Challenge dose was 1 X 10(5) colony-forming units of M . bovis cultured from a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) case in Michigan. Birds were euthanatized at 1 and 2 mo postinoculation. Histologic lesions suggestive of mycobacteriosis, without the presence of acid-fast b acilli, were noted in all experimental groups. Mycobacterial cultures perfo rmed on pooled tissue samples were positive for M. bovis in only some of th e intraperitoneal inoculates of each species.