"BIRD MALARIA" in 



Other parasites, belonging to the genus Hamo- 

 proteus, are found also in the blood of birds. 

 H&moproteus columbce occurs in pigeons, adults and 

 nestlings alike being attacked. A fly known as 

 Lynchiciy which is a winged member of the Hippo- 

 boscidae, to which group the grouse-fly and the sheep- 

 ked belong, is responsible for the transference of the 

 parasite. Like the grouse-fly, it hides among the 

 feathers, its wings pressed close to its body, and 

 sucks blood vigorously. Nestlings are favoured by 

 it, as their more delicate skins are less difficult of 

 penetration, and the young birds may show infection 

 before their parents, as they have less chance of dis- 

 lodging the flies by flight. The life-history of the 

 Hczmoproteus is rather like that of the Plasmodia. 

 When the gametocytes are ingested by the Lynchia, 

 the gametes form rapidly and fertilization occurs. By 

 some means not at present fully elucidated, the zygote 

 (or ookinete) is inoculated by the fly into the blood 

 of the bird, where it infects the leucocytes, causes 

 them to grow larger in the lungs, and itself divides 

 into many tiny bodies, often called merozoites. 

 The term sporozoites would seem to be more ap- 

 propriate, seeing that they apparently result from the 

 division of the fertilized macrogamete. The infected 

 leucocytes finally rupture or disintegrate, and the 

 swarms of minute, amoeboid merozoites are thus 

 liberated into the blood-stream, where they proceed 

 to infect the red blood-corpuscles and to grow into 

 halter-shaped gametocytes, once called Halteridium. 



Finally, before leaving these parasites inhabiting 

 blood-corpuscles, mention may be made of the 



