ORIGINAL ARTICLE Serum biochemical values of some species of apparently healthy free-living wild birds in Zaria, Nigeria Samson James Enam 1 & S. B. Oladele 1 & A. A. James 2 & A. G. Balami 3 & S. Y. Idris 1 & P. A. Abdu 4 Received: 14 August 2017 /Accepted: 21 November 2017 # Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2017 Abstract The research was carried out to establish baseline serum biochemical parameters for some species of apparently healthy free- living wild birds in Zaria, Nigeria. A total of 133 free-living wild birds, belonging to seven species, comprising 20 each of Poicephalus senegalus (Senegal Parrot), Psittacula krameri (Rose-Ringed Parakeet), Streptopelia senegalensis (Laughing Dove), Treron waalia (Bruce’ s Green Pigeon), 19 Columba guinea (Speckled Pigeons), 16 Streptopelia decipiens (Mourning Collar-Doves) and 18 Bubulcus ibis (Cattle Egrets) were used. The Audiocomb serum auto-analyser was used for the analyses. The highest mean glucose (154.70 ± 5.72 mg/dl), creatinine (0.49 ± 0.02 mg/dl) and urea (5.53 ± 0.28 mg/dl) concentrations were obtained from the apparently healthy Mourning Collar Dove, Bruce Green Pigeon and Speckled Pigeon, respectively. Except for mean serum calcium concentration of 2.64 ± 0.05 mg/dl which was highest in the apparently healthy Cattle Egret, the glucose (139.20 ± 4.64 mg/dl), urea (4.24 ± 0.15 mg/dl), total protein (6.65 ± 0.10 g/dl) and albumin (3.77 ± 0.10 g/dl) concentrations were lowest in this species of bird. The mean total protein concentration of 6.93 ± 0.10 g/dl and globulin concentration of 2.97 ± 0.04 g/dl were highest in the apparently healthy Laughing Dove. The apparently healthy Rose-Ringed Parakeet had the highest mean phosphorus concentration of 1.05 ± 0.03 mg/dl and lowest mean globulin fraction of 2.89 ± 0.05 g/dl. The range values for urea (4.40–7.20 mg/dl), calcium (2.53–3.01 mg/dl) and phosphorus (0.87–1.96 mg/dl) were obtained from the Speckled Pigeon, while the Mourning Collar-Dove had range value of 139–202 mg/dl for glucose concentration. In conclusion, there were interspecies variations in biochemical parameters of free-living wild birds in Zaria, Nigeria. Keywords Serum biochemistry . Wild birds . Creatinine . Urea . Total protein . Glucose Introduction Birds live and breed in the terrestrial (aboreal) habitats on all the seven continents (Brooke 2004). It is believed that the highest bird diversity occurs in tropical regions of the world (Weir and Schluter 2007). Investigations into the baseline serum biochemical param- eters of animals have received increasing attention in recent years in both the temperate and tropical countries. There are scientific and economic reasons for attempting to establish normal baseline haematological and serum biochemical pa- rameters of healthy animals in the tropics (Oladele 2009). * Samson James Enam yaxj5@yahoo.com S. B. Oladele profsboladele@gmail.com A. A. James chendekemen@gmail.com A. G. Balami talktoarrow@yahoo.com S. Y. Idris drsheriffidris@gmail.com P. A. Abdu paabdu2004@yahoo.com 1 Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria 2 Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria 3 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria 4 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria Comparative Clinical Pathology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-017-2616-y