204 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



SUB-ORDER II. H^EMOSPORIDIA. 

 XIX. Leucocytozodn lovati (Selig. and Samb.). 



This Protozoon, a species of Leucocytozdon, one of the Haemosporidia, 

 was first found in 1907 in the blood of a Grouse. Since then it has been 

 observed 1 alive in two birds, and in stained smears of the blood of 

 two other birds. A new feature in the life of the Leucocytozoa of 

 birds was the discovery by Dr Fantham of the young multiplicative 

 stages of the parasite in the spleen of the Grouse. 2 Few birds are 

 infected, and in the cases observed the degree of infection was slight. The 

 parasite causes a certain amount of destruction of the colourless blood 

 corpuscles ; but is not sufficiently common to cause more than a sporadic 

 and slight amount of disease. 



XX. Hcemoproteus mansoni (Samb ). 



This second parasite of the blood corpuscles was first recorded by 

 Dr Sambon, who has seen something which he thinks to be stages in 

 its life history in the body of the Grouse-fly. Some minute parasites 

 seen since by Dr Fantham in the red blood corpuscles of two birds may 

 be young forms of this species. 3 



SUB-ORDER III. COCCIDIIDEA. 

 XXI. Eimeria (Coccidium) avium. 



This is a dangerous parasite, and^its presencejis associated with 

 much disease and frequent death in the young birds during the first 

 few weeks of their life. The disease is of a very definite character, and 

 is termed Coccidiosis. The parasite occurs especially in the duodenum 

 and in the caeca, and by entering, growing and multiplying in the 

 epithelial cells of these regions of the alimentary canal it destroys the 

 lining membrane. The spores are taken up direct from the ground or 

 on the food, and the action of the pancreatic juice dissolves the spore - 

 cases and sets free the parasites to attack the epithelial cells. It has 

 been found possible to infect young fowls and young pigeons with this 

 parasite of the Grouse, and to set up fatal disease. In all cases the 

 birds suffer from enteritis, accompanied by acute diarrhoea, and the 

 dejecta contain millions of spores which thus are spread all over the 

 ground ; the spores pass uninjured through the intestine of the larvae 

 of the dung-fly, 4 and these maggots which live in Grouse droppings 

 may thus help to disseminate the parasite. 



For further details of this organism reference is made to chap. ix. 

 on Coccidiosis. 



1 See Fantham, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1910, p. 693. 



2 8ee Fantham, Ann. Trop. Med. and Parasitol. , iv., 1910, p. 255. 



a See Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1910, p. 697. 4 Scatophaga stercoraria. 



