diff --git a/skimage/io/_plugins/fits_plugin.py b/skimage/io/_plugins/fits_plugin.py
index 0f7b741f..0643285d 100644
--- a/skimage/io/_plugins/fits_plugin.py
+++ b/skimage/io/_plugins/fits_plugin.py
@@ -95,8 +95,12 @@ def imread_collection(load_pattern, conserve_memory=True):
                isinstance(hdu, pyfits.PrimaryHDU):
                 # Ignore (primary) header units with no data (use '.size'
                 # rather than '.data' to avoid actually loading the image):
-                if hdu.size() > 0:
-                    ext_list.append((filename, n))
+                try:
+                    if hdu.size() > 0:
+                        ext_list.append((filename, n))
+                except TypeError:  # (size changed to int in PyFITS 3.1)
+                    if hdu.size > 0:
+                        ext_list.append((filename, n))
         hdulist.close()
 
     return io.ImageCollection(ext_list, load_func=FITSFactory,