Morphobiological Studies On Parasites of Pigeons

The present study dealt with parasites infecting pigeons collected from various localities and markets in Sharkia governorate. Out of262 collected pigeons 12 (4.58%) were found to harbour ectoparasites and 112 (42.75%) were found to harbour oneor more types of endoparasites.The collected parasites included 3 arthropods, 1 trematode, 5 cestodes, 1 nematode and 1 protozoa. The recovered arthropods were Columbicola columbae(3.05%), Dermanyssus gallinae (1.53%) and Argas reflexus from crakes and corners of pigeon houses.The recorded trematode was Brachylaemus fuscatus var nicolli (6.87%). The recorded cestodes were Raillietina (R. echinobothrida andR. georgiensis) (26.72%), Cotugnia (C. cuneata and C. taiwanensis) (3.05%) and Killgrewia frivola meggitt (0.76%). The recorded nematode was Ascaridia columbae (5.34%). The recorded protozoa was Haemoproteus columbae (45.04%).The present investigation also included the study of the seasonal dynamics influencing infestation rate with the different types of parasites. It was observed that the peak of arthropodsinfestations was in spring (4.58%).