A survey of chewing lice of some raptors in southern Iraq, with remarks on prevalence and occurrence

• Main Authors: Alaa Hatem, Mufid Abou Turab, H.K. Abdul-Zahra, Muhammad Muhammad
• Format: Article
• Language: Arabic
• Published: University of Mosul, College of Veterinary Medicine 2020-09-01
• Series: Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences
• Subjects: chewing lice; raptors; iraq
• Online Access: https://vetmedmosul.com/article_166854_8f986a88f108ee8ef777c16e880652b0.pdf

This study was conducted to isolate and identify the chewing lice from some raptors in Basrah, Thi-Qar, and Missan provinces located in south of Iraq. Samples of birds were collected from January to December 2018. The survey was accomplished with a total of 87 raptors belonging to five species, sparrow hawk <em>Accipiter nisus</em>, marsh harrier <em>Circus aeruginosus</em>, lesser kestrel <em>Falco naumani</em>, kestrel <em>Falco tinnuculus</em>, and black kite <em>Milvus migrans</em>. Totally 58 of 87 birds were infested with chewing lice, the overall prevalence was 66.67%. Five chewing lice species were identified: <em>Craspedorrhynchus platystomus</em>, <em>Degeeriella fulva</em>,<em> Degeeriella fusca</em>, <em>Degeeriella rufa</em>, and <em>Laemobothrion maximum</em>. All these specieswere identified in Iraq for the first time. <em>D. rufa</em> was recorded the highest prevalence in all raptors with 28.74%, whereas <em>C. platystomus</em> was the lowest 10.34%. As for the prevalence of bird’s species, the highest percentage was recorded in kestrels and black kite with 71.43%, while sparrow hawk was the lowest 53.85%. Some notes about ecology and occurrence of the chewing lice were reported.