Susie: I agree. I'm not sure what the life expectancy is of our backyard birds, but with what they ingest and endure it truly is amazing that they survive for very long! It might be normal, but this year I've noticed what seems like numerous birds that have obvious mite problems, some with totally bald heads. For a few years we had a common Northern Mockingbird (pictured below) with a damaged beak and he seemed to thrive. I haven't seen him this year but he was around for two or three years always hanging in the tree until a feeder was clear of other birds before he would go to eat.
