Tyto alba Barn

Girisgin, Ahmet Onur, Dik, Bilal & Girisgin, Oya, 2013, Chewing lice (Phthiraptera) species of wild birds in northwestern Turkey with a new host record, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 2 (1), pp. 217-221 : 219-220

4 Tyto alba Barn owl –

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countries neighbouring Turkey showed infestation rates of 15.2% in Iran (Dik and Halajian, 2013), 10.7% in Bulgaria (Ilieva, 2005) and similar results in Russia (Lyakhova and Kotti, 2011). In addition, the species composition of the lice community and their hosts reported in our study were similar to those reported in Russia (Lyakhova and Kotti, 2011) and Bulgaria (Ilieva, 2005) but were markedly different than those reported in Iran (Dik and Halajian, 2013). This discrepancy may be due to geographical variations and the insufficient number of birds examined in the present study. In addition, infestation levels can vary according to habitat, the infestation rate in flocks of birds, the infestation of the nest, the general health of the birds and other environmental conditions (Poulin, 1991). Moreover, the higher infestation rates obtained in this study as compared to those conducted in other provinces in Turkey may have been the result of the high humidity levels in Bursa (Chen and Mullens, 2008; Bush et al., 2009).

Transmission of D. nisus between the Eurasian sparrowhawk, its normal host, and the Common buzzard was impossible because their reception at our hospital was separated by an interval of almost 1 year; the Common buzzard specimens were received in February 2011, while the Eurasian sparrowhawk was received in January 2012. In addition, special care was taken not to mix up the sampling tools. We are therefore confident that the Common buzzard represents a new host record for D. nisus .

In conclusion, we found that wild birds were infested by numerous lice species and that migratory birds were more significantly affected than non-migratory birds. Nine lice species, namely, Coloceras hilli , C. chinense , I. plataleae , A. plataleae , F. suturalis , D. nisus , S. cursitans , S. struthionis and G. pavonis , are reported here for the first time in Turkey. Additionally, we documented a new host report ( D. nisus on B. buteo ). Our findings indicate that Turkey is an important location in avian Phthirapteran research, and numerous lice species can be studied if a variety of bird species are examined on the flyways and/or important bird areas of Turkey.