Chewing lice (Phthiraptera) species of wild birds in northwestern Turkey with a new host record ^☆

Graphical abstract

Highlights

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  We investigate about chewing lice of migratory and non-migratory wild birds of Turkey.

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  Forty (58.8%) out of 68 birds examined were infested with at least one chewing louse species.

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  Infestation rate of louse on migratory birds is higher than non-migratory ones, 72.7% and 43.7% respectively.

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  Nine lice species are new records for Turkey and one species is a new record of host-parasite association throughout the world.

Abstract

The goal of this study was to identify the chewing lice species of migratory and non-migratory wild birds in the province of Bursa, which is located in northwestern Turkey, between August 2009 and November 2012. Sixty-eight birds brought to the animal hospital in need of medical intervention, which belonged to 25 species, 20 genera and 15 families in 10 orders, were examined for ectoparasites. To sample for the presence of chewing lice, an insecticide was pulverised on the feathers of each bird over a white piece of paper, and then all of the lice were collected and placed in tubes containing 70% alcohol. The lice specimens were cleared in 10% KOH for 24 h, mounted in Canada balsam and identified using a light microscope. Forty (58.8%) out of 68 birds examined were infested with at least one species of chewing lice, and a total of 29 lice species were found on the birds. This study represents the first documentation in Turkey of 9 of these lice species and also provides the first worldwide record of Degeeriella nisus on the Common buzzard ( Buteo buteo).