Valvular endocarditis and septic thrombosis associated with a radial fracture in a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

A free-ranging adult female red-tailed hawk died suddenly after 3 weeks in rehabilitation for a radial fracture. Cause of death was septic thrombosis from a chronic bacterial valvular endocarditis, probably associationed with injury at the fracture site. The challenge of clinical diagnosis of sepsis in wild birds is emphasized.