Notes on a Collection of Bird Fleas from Grand Manah, New Brunswick

1962 ◽  
Vol 94 (7) ◽  
pp. 743-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen H. Benton ◽  
Vaughnda Shatrau
Keyword(s):  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Barn Swallow ◽  
Corvus Brachyrhynchos ◽  
Oceanodroma Leucorhoa ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Petrochelidon Pyrrhonota ◽  
Savannah Sparrow ◽  
Bank Swallow

Near Grand Manan Island, in the Ray of Fundy and about 20 miles from the coast of Maine and 30 miles from Nova Scotia, lie Kent Island and Hay Island. During the summer of 1961, we secured collections of bird nests from these islands so as to study the flea fauna. Nests of the following species were collected: Larus argentatus, herring gull; Somateria mollissima, common eider; Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow; Oceanodroma leucorhoa, Leach's petrel; Riparia r. riparia, bank swallow; Hirundo rustica erythrogaster, barn swallow; Petrochelidon pyrrhonota albifrons, cliff swallow; Iridoprocne bicolor, tree swallow; and Passerculus sondwichensis, savannah sparrow. The nests of herring gulls, eiders, crows, and Leach's petrels proved to be without fleas, but from the other nests 797 fleas were collected.

Feather mites of the genus Trouessartia Canestrini (Acariformes: Trouessartiidae) from swallows (Passeriformes: Hirundinidae) in Canada

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4568 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERGEY V. MIRONOV ◽  
TERRY D. GALLOWAY
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
North America ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Petrochelidon Pyrrhonota ◽  
Progne Subis ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Purple Martin ◽  
A New Species

Seven species of the feather mite genus Trouessartia Canestrini, 1899 (Astigmata: Trouessartiidae) have been recorded on swallows and martins (Passeriformes: Hirundinidae) in Manitoba (Canada). Of them, five are described as new species: Trouessartia ampulicaudata sp. n. and T. petrochelidon sp. n. from the American cliff swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (Vieillot), T. bochkovi sp. n. from the tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot), and T. cryptocaudata sp. n. and T. progne sp. n. from the purple martin Progne subis (Linnaeus). A new species group stelgidopteryx, incorporating Trouessartia species living on hirundinids of the genera Progne, Tachycineta and Stelgidopteryx, is established. Renewed diagnoses of four Trouessartia species groups (appendiculata, crucifera, minutipes, and stelgidopteryx) restricted to hirundinids and a key to species recorded so far and potentially expected on swallows of North America are proposed. Host associations of Trouessartia species with swallows in North America are briefly discussed. 

Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R. Brown ◽  
Mary B. Brown ◽  
Peter Pyle ◽  
Michael A. Patten
Keyword(s):  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Petrochelidon Pyrrhonota

Endogenous biomarkers reveal diet partitioning among three sympatric species of swallows

The Auk ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaelyn H Bumelis ◽  
Michael D Cadman ◽  
Keith A Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Aerial Insectivores ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Δ 15N

Abstract Since the early 1990s, aerial insectivorous birds have shown serious population declines in North America, but it is not clear if factors common to all species within this guild account for these declines. Among sympatric swallows, population trends differ, and this may be due to differences in ecology operating throughout the annual cycle. Although these species all feed on aerial insects, prey taxa can differ tremendously in their “aeroecology” and use by swallows. We examined the potential for dietary differences among three species of swallows, Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), and Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), breeding sympatrically in southern Ontario, Canada. Potential interspecific differences in nestling diet were examined using two endogenous biomarkers, DNA barcoding of nestling feces and stable isotope analysis (δ 2H, δ 13C, δ 15N) of nestling feathers. We found evidence for differences in dietary sources of provisioned young where Barn Swallows provisioned more terrestrial-based prey, Cliff Swallows provisioned an intermediate diet, and Tree Swallows the most aquatic-emergent insect diet. We suggest this information may help to identify potential factors contributing to differential declines of aerial insectivores operating on the breeding grounds, including diet quality.

New and little-known species of feather mites (Acari: Analgoidea: Pteronyssidae) from birds in North America

2006 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergei V. Mironov ◽  
Terry D. Galloway
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Feather Mites ◽  
New Host ◽  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Northern Flicker ◽  
Picoides Pubescens ◽  
Colaptes Auratus ◽  
First Time ◽  
New Host Records

AbstractIn this paper, we review the pteronyssid feather mites of the genera Pteronyssus Robin, Scutulanyssus Mironov, and Stenopteronyssus Faccini and Atyeo found in the course of an investigation into ectoparasites of birds in Canada. Five new species of feather mites are described: Pteronyssus sphyrapicinussp. nov. from the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius (L.); Stenopteronyssus proctoraesp. nov. from the Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus (L.); Scutulanyssus progneisp. nov. and Scutulanyssus subissp. nov. from the Purple Martin, Progne subis (L.); and Scutulanyssus petrochelidonissp. nov. from the Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (Vieillot). New host records are provided for Pteronyssus picoides Černy and Schumilo from the Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens (L.), and for Scutulanyssus obscurus (Berlese) from the Cliff Swallow; Pteronyssus brevipes Berlese and Scutulanyssus hirundicolus Mironov are formally recorded in North America for the first time; and Pteronyssus centurus McDaniel and Price is reported for the first time in Canada, from Lewis' Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis (Gray). Scutulanyssus tyrrelli (Canestrini) is reported for the first time in Manitoba from the Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot). Keys are provided for all species of Pteronyssus and Scutulanyssus found in North America.

THREE NEW SPECIES OF FLEAS FROM CANADA (SIPHONAPTERA)

1979 ◽  
Vol 111 (6) ◽  
pp. 713-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.P. Holland
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Peromyscus Maniculatus ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Petrochelidon Pyrrhonota ◽  
The Family ◽  
Three New Species

AbstractThree new species of fleas are described, two of the family HYSTRICHOPSYLLIDAE Tiraboschi 1904 (Nearctopsylla grahami n. sp. and Rhadinopsylla (Micropsylla) rauschi n. sp.) and one of the family CERATOPHYLLIDAE Dampf 1908 (Ceratophyllus calderwoodi n. sp,). N. grahami is known only from western Ontario where it has been collected from marten, Martes a. americana. R. (M.) rauschi was collected from deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus osgoodi, in southwestern Saskatchewan. C. calderwoodi was collected from a nest of cliff swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, in eastern New Brunswick.

Breeding Biology of the Savannah Sparrow on Kent Island

The Auk ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara L. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Nesting Success ◽  
Breeding Biology ◽  
Passerculus Sandwichensis ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
Savannah Sparrow ◽  
The Mean

Abstract I studied the breeding biology of the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada from 1964 through 1968. I estimated the breeding population to be 125-135 pairs $(412-445\ \text{individuals}/{\rm km}^{2})$. The mean number of nests produced per female, including those destroyed by predators, was 2.97. Clutch size ranged from 2 to 5. The mean clutch size based on 1,142 eggs in 284 nests of known clutch size was 4.02. Not only was the four-egg clutch most numerous but a greater percentage of eggs in the four-egg clutches hatched and the mean number of young fledged per nest was also highest. The mean incubation period was 12.2 days, the mean duration of nestling life was 9 days, and the approximate length of the breeding season as 52 days. The daily mortality rate of eggs was 11.9% and of nestlings 2.1%. Predation was the major factor affecting reproductive success; 50.5% of all nests located were destroyed by predators. The main nest predators were Common Crows and Herring Gulls. Of the nests destroyed by predators, 87.8% contained eggs rather than nestlings. The intense predation necessitated high nest replacement. The mean interval between the termination of one nest and the appearance of the first egg in the succeeding nest was 6.3 days. If successive nests are destroyed on the day incubation begins, it is hypothetically possible for a pair to produce four nests during a single breeding season; many birds in the population produce at least three. Although enough time was available for birds to fledge two broods in a season, few of them fledged more than one. Thus, the nesting success was low (success from egg to hatching 18.1%). High nest replacement compensated for high egg mortality, and an average of 2.16 young per pair were fledged per season.

Organochlorine Contaminants in Avian Wildlife of Severn Sound

1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela A. Martin ◽  
D. Vaughn Weseloh ◽  
Christine A. Bishop ◽  
Karin Legierse ◽  
Birgit Braune ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Breast Muscle ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
Terrestrial Arthropods ◽  
Common Terns ◽  
Organochlorine Contaminants ◽  
Caspian Terns

Abstract Organochlorine contaminants were measured in pooled egg samples of colonial waterbirds, red-winged blackbirds and tree swallows breeding in or near Severn Sound, Lake Huron, an area designated by the International Joint Commission as an Area of Concern, during 1991. Breast muscle samples of staging waterfowl were also collected the preceding autumn. PCBs, DDE and mirex were the most prevalent organochlorine contaminants present in eggs (concentration ranges of 0.065 to 5.452, 0.118 to 3.12 and 0.007 to 0.174 mg/kg, respectively), while oxychlordane, cis-chlordane, dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide, trans-nonachlor, cis-nonachlor, OCS, HCB and beta-HCH were also detectable at low levels in some egg samples. Tetra- and pentachlorobenzene, and alpha-and gamma-HCH were not detected in any of the samples. Generally, the following interspecific gradient in contaminant levels in bird eggs was found: herring gulls = Caspian terns > common terns > tree swallows > blackbirds. Concentrations in the eggs of piscivorous birds in Severn Sound were similar or slightly lower than those from other colonies in Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, and considerably lower than those from colonies in Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario. Mirex levels in herring gulls and Caspian terns from Severn Sound colonies were an exception in that they were substantially higher than levels from other Lake Huron colonies (0.174 and 0.167 mg.kg-1 for the two species, respectively, versus <0.12 mg.kg-1), although still much lower than those from Lake Ontario (0.50 and 0.719, respectively). It is probable that mirex was accumulated by gulls and terns during winter or migrational stopovers on Lake Ontario. Low contaminant levels in common terns may have been a result of their consumption of a smaller size class of prey fish. Higher contaminant levels in tree swallow eggs in comparison to red-winged blackbird eggs may have been due to the preponderance of aquatic insects in their diets, as opposed to the larger proportion of terrestrial arthropods in blackbird diets. Only PCBs and DDE were detected in the breast muscle of lesser scaup and mallards.

scholarly journals Dispersing hemipteran vectors have reduced arbovirus prevalence

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 20140117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy T. Moore ◽  
Charles R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Movement Behaviour ◽  
Virus Prevalence ◽  
Cliff Swallow ◽  
Petrochelidon Pyrrhonota ◽  
Infected Insect ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Wildlife Populations ◽  
Oeciacus Vicarius

A challenge in managing vector-borne zoonotic diseases in human and wildlife populations is predicting where epidemics or epizootics are likely to occur, and this requires knowing in part the likelihood of infected insect vectors dispersing pathogens from existing infection foci to novel areas. We measured prevalence of an arbovirus, Buggy Creek virus, in dispersing and resident individuals of its exclusive vector, the ectoparasitic swallow bug ( Oeciacus vicarius ), that occupies cliff swallow ( Petrochelidon pyrrhonota ) colonies in western Nebraska. Bugs colonizing new colony sites and immigrating into established colonies by clinging to the swallows’ legs and feet had significantly lower virus prevalence than bugs in established colonies and those that were clustering in established colonies before dispersing. The reduced likelihood of infected bugs dispersing to new colony sites indicates that even heavily infected sites may not always export virus to nearby foci at a high rate. Infected arthropods should not be assumed to exhibit the same dispersal or movement behaviour as uninfected individuals, and these differences in dispersal should perhaps be considered in the epidemiology of vector-borne pathogens such as arboviruses.

scholarly journals Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Antibodies in Eider Ducks and Herring Gulls

The Condor ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 688-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuula Hollmén ◽  
J. Christian Franson ◽  
Douglas E. Docherty ◽  
Mikael Kilpi ◽  
Martti Hario ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Virus ◽  
Infectious Bursal Disease Virus ◽  
Infectious Bursal Disease ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Herring Gulls ◽  
Bursal Disease ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract We measured antibodies to infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) in blood of nesting Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) females and immature Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) in the Baltic Sea, and in blood of Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) females nesting in a remote area of western Alaska. Positive (≥ 1:16) IBDV titers occurred in 75% of the eiders and 45% of the Herring Gull chicks. In eiders, the prevalence of positive titers differed among locations. We found no evidence that IBDV exposure impaired the immune function of Herring Gull chicks, based on their response to inoculation of sheep red blood cells. We suggest that eider ducks and Herring Gulls have been exposed to IBDV, even in locations where contact with poultry is unlikely. The presence of this virus in wild bird populations is of concern because it causes mortality of up to 30% in susceptible poultry.

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