Carcinoma with concurrent haemosiderosis in an Australian bittern (Botaurus poidloptilus)

A 15-year-old female bittern was presented for necropsy with a history of weight loss and ascites. There was a large neoplastic mass in the abdominal cavity closely attached to the gizzard with several smaller masses attached to the intestine and involving the liver. Much of the normal liver tissue had been obliterated. Histologi-cally, there were many mitotic figures and in some sections the tumour had an acinar pattern. The overall morphology of the tumour was consistent with a carcinoma. The ovary was normal. There was concurrent hepatic haemosiderosis which was severe. As an incidental finding there were several small and two large cysts in the left and right kidneys.