A host-parasite catalogue of the haematozoa of the sub-Saharan birds

Abstract

The prevalence of avian haematozoa in 826 species of birds representing 73 families of sub-Saharan birds as recorded in the literature or in the files of the International Reference Centre for Avian Haematozoa and the Veterinary Research Institute is presented. The most commonly occurring blood parasites were members of the genus Haemoproteus which were represented by 63 species which occurred in 19.1% of the sample. Twenty-five species of Leucocytozoon were recorded in 8.3% of the birds and represented the second most frequently encountered group of haematozoa. Species of Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, and filarioids (as microfilariae) occurred in 3.5%, 2.5% and 2.8% respectively of the birds sampled; species of Aegyptianella, Atoxoplasma, Babesia and Hepatozoon were infrequently seen. An annotated list of the birds examined for haematozoa is presented and brief descriptions of the species of Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon in birds of the sub-Saharan zone are included.