

BIRD MITES. 



519 



THE four creatures described in the following lines are parasitic on birds. The species 

 called Menopon pallidum is unpleasantly familiar to poultry -keepers, swarming among the 

 feathers to such a degree that the hands are often covered with these parasites when the fowls 

 are plucked or even lifted up. They cling very tightly, and are not easily brushed away, as 

 their bodies are smoothly polished, and offer scarcely any resistance. The color of this species 

 is pale straw. 



A parasite found on the common swan and other aquatic birds, such as the bean goose 

 and Bewick's swan, is termed Docophorus cygni. It is colored after a rather peculiar fashion. 

 The head, thorax, and legs are bright chestnut, amooth and shining ; the abdomen is white, 

 except the first segment, which is of the same color as the thorax. There is also a chestnut 

 spot on the third segment, and a row of short, liver-colored bands runs down each side. 



A parasite which is not very plentiful, but which is found on various birds, such as the 

 rook, the raven, and the blackbird, is called Ooniodes falcicornis. It has a hard, shelly 

 surface, and is marked with numerous dark bars. The last example is the SICKLE-HORNED 

 TICK, so called from the shape of its antennae, which are rather large, flattish, and curved. It 

 is a pretty species, its squared head being of a light chestnut color, and highly polished. The 

 abdomen is broad, rather flat, and of a light tawny yellow, barred with deep red, and having 

 the last segment of the same color as the head. It is parasitical upon the common peacock, 

 and may almost invariably be found, after the death of the bird, congregated in tolerable 

 numbers about the base of the beak. 



