1584 The Zoologist — March, 1869. 



niagiiificent work of Mr. Denny,* there is not, as far as I am aware, 

 an}' treatise or work on the subject. 



During the last year I have microscopically examined and taken 

 drawings of the parasitic insects infesting about sixty species of birds, 

 many of them now extremely rare in Great Britain : for these 1 am 

 indebted in a great measure to Mr. J. H. Guniey, jun., who has very 

 kindly, from time to time, forwarded specimens taken from various 

 birds lately added to his valuable collection. Others, again, have been 

 taken from birds shot by myself in this district. The observations 

 recorded in this paper have been jotted down at various periods during 

 the year in my note-book, and I now bring them together, trusting they 

 will interest my readers. As I possess, however, but a slight know- 

 ledge of Entomology, I can make no attempt at a scientific description 

 of these insects. 



These minute creatures belong to the Louse family, the genus 

 Pediculus of Linnaeus. They are found, in greater or less numbers, 

 concealed amongst the feathers of birds, whose blood they suck. 

 Their life is intimately connected with that of the bird ; they cling to 

 it in. summer and winter, in sunshine and storm, accompany it in all 

 its many migrations and wanderings, are often carried to the bottom of 

 the sea, and at last, when it dies, they lingeringly perish. 



With two exceptions, the parasites belonging to the sixty species of 

 birds examined are distinct. Some, indeed, are very closely allied 

 and have a general resemblance, but when placed side by side on a 

 glass slide and carefully compared they differ considerably. The ex- 

 ceptions are in the parasites of Sabine's snipe and that of the common 

 species (Scolopax gallinago), and those of the rock dove and domestic 

 pigeon : in both cases these insects appear identical, a careful 

 examination failing to delect any difference. 



There is one small insect, however, which I call a " tick," common 

 to all birds alike. I have examined specimens taken from widely 

 different species — skuas, redshank, gannet, glaucous gull, whimbrel, 

 green plover, golden plover, &c. They are not always present, but 

 may be occasionally detected : for instance, in ten golden plovers 

 I could find only two ; a single green plover afforded about a dozen. 

 They are usually found concealed amongst the small feathers of the 

 bead and neck, differing in this respect from the true parasite, which 

 may be found all over the body. These " licks," although inhabiting 



* ' Monograpbia Anoplurorum Britanniae, or an Essay on the British Species of 

 Parasitic Insects.' 1842. 



