Blood parasites of birds from south-east Queensland

Abstract

A total of 3059 individual birds, presented as clinical cases to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Gold Coast, Queensland, was examined for the presence of blood parasites at the International Reference Centre for Avian Haematozoa, Queensland Museum. Birds examined represent members of 40 families, 102 genera and 133 species, of these, 350 (11.4%) individuals were found to harbour one or more species of haematozoa. At least four new species of parasites have been identified. The highest occurrence of infection was found with species of Leucocytozoon (51.1% of infected birds), followed by Haemoproteus (31.4%). Plasmodium spp. occurred in 10.9% of birds examined but specific identity for this genus was limited because of the low levels of parasitaemia and a lack of developmental stages required to characterise each species. The information provided by this survey and those planned for other regions of Australia will be of significance to conservation strategies that involve captive breeding and translocation of endangered species of birds.