Pansteatitis in a free-ranging red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

A free-ranging juvenile female red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) that was unable to fly was admitted to a rehabilitation center and died 1 day later. Hematology and serum chemistry abnormalities included moderate regenerative anemia, elevated creatine kinase, and hyperphosphatemia. Necropsy revealed a generalized steatitis, and histology showed a necrotizing and granulomatous pansteatitis with intralesional pigment compatible with ceroid. There was also moderate diffuse myodegeneration, mild multifocal cardiomyopathy, and mild multifocal hepatic necrosis. These changes and lesions resemble those caused by vitamin E deficiency in mammals and fish-eating birds.