From my experience. .it's really important that we physically check our not only birds but our animal companions as well...by that I mean checking there mouths, there feet, palpation of limbs etc. I have avoided so many potential tragedies both physically, emotionally and financially by this method. A few years ago Nala (my Boxer) had a benign tumor on her gum..I caught in time because I'm always checking her body...I also felt a small growth between her toes...again. .caught in time...And let's not even Elvis....because I was wise to his body language I took him to the vet (this was 2 years ago)..and he had liver toxins. .who knows what he got into..and again. .caught it on time. .then he developed a bacterial infection in both feet which started as little white patches. ..then I found a small laceration on the bottom of foot which was starting to become infected. .caught in time..so..sorry for the long post..BUT...you get the idea...superficial viewing is not always correct...FYI..