70 
with the malarial organism Haemoproteus 
columbae Celli and Sanfelice (Alicata, 
1939c). This protozoan lives in the red blood 
cells and may be responsible for the produc¬ 
tion of anemia and low vitality. It is spread 
among pigeons through the bite of the pigeon 
fly, Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart), 
which is generally distributed (Bryan, 1934). 
Histomonas meleagridis (Smith), the causa¬ 
tive organism of "blackhead” in turkeys, is 
responsible for sporadic outbreaks of this 
disease in various parts of the Islands. 
ROUNDWORMS 
Up to a few years ago gizzard-worms, 
Cheilospirura hamulosa (Diesing), were 
widespread among chickens and turkeys in 
the Territory and were responsible for 
anemia, emaciation, and deaths, especially 
among chickens. The infection was checked 
after the discovery and control of the follow¬ 
ing arthropods, which were found serving as 
intermediate hosts (Alicata, 1936; 1938 b\ 
1939c): (coleoptera) Carpophilus dimi- 
diatus Fabricius, Dactylosternum abdominale 
(Fabricius), Dermestes vulpinus Fabricius, 
Epitragus diremptus Karsch, Euxestus sp., 
Gonocephalus seriatum (Boisd.), Litargus 
balteatus Lee., Oxydema fusiforme Woll., 
Palorus ratzeburgi (Wissm.), Sitophilus 
oryzae (Linn.), Tenebroides nana Melsh., 
Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), and Typhaea 
stercorea Linn.; (orthoptera) Atracto- 
morpha ambigua Bolivar, Conocephalus sal- 
tator (Sauss.), and Oxya chinensis (Thun.); 
(amphipoda) Orchestia platensis Kroyer. 
The eyeworm, Oxyspirura mansoni (Cob- 
bold), which utilizes the burrowing roach, 
Pycnoscelus surinamensis (Linn.), is com¬ 
mon in chickens in the Islands (Alicata, 
1936). This eyeworm has also been found 
in the English sparrow ( Passer domesticus 
[Linn.]) (Illingworth, 1931), the mynah 
bird ( Acridotheris tristis [Linn.]), and the 
Chinese dove ( Streptopelia chinensis [Sco- 
poli]). On this account, these wild birds are 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. 1, April, 1947 
believed to assist in spreading the infection 
in nature. The parasites are located in the 
inner corner of the eyeball and in the nictat¬ 
ing membrane. In heavy infestations there 
is a puffiness around the eye, and inflamma¬ 
tion frequently results in blindness. Infested 
birds often wink their eyes continually, and 
the irritation causes the bird to scratch the 
eye with the claws for relief. The process of 
scratching frequently causes mechanical in¬ 
jury to the eyeball and development of 
secondary bacterial infection. Eyeworm in¬ 
fection is most prevalent in dry areas with 
loose sandy soil in which roaches thrive. As 
a means of controlling this disease, the writer 
has advocated the maintenance of giant toads, 
Bufo marinus (Linn.), in poultry yards. 
These toads are insectivorous and devour 
roaches readily. 
The poultry ascarid, As car id ia gal It 
(Schrank), and two species of cecal worms, 
Heterakis gallihae (Gmelin) and Subulura 
brumpti (Lopez Neyra), are common among 
chickens. S. brumpti is the most prevalent, 
and unlike H. gallinae requires an interme¬ 
diate host, which may be any one of the 
following (Alicata, 1939^; Cuckler and Ali¬ 
cata, 1944): (coleoptera) Alphitobius 
diaperinus (Panz.), Ammophorus insularis 
Boh., Dermestes vulpinus Fabricius, Gono¬ 
cephalus seriatum (Boisd.), and Tribolium 
castaneum (Herbst); (orthoptera) Cono¬ 
cephalus saltator (Sauss.), Oxya chinensis 
(Thun.); (dermaptera) Euborellia annu¬ 
lipes (Lucas). The intestinal roundworm, 
Ornithostrongylus quadriradiatus (Steven¬ 
son), has been found common in pigeons in 
the Islands and is believed responsible for 
unthriftiness and losses among pigeons (Ali¬ 
cata, 1939c). 
Other roundworms of chickens which re¬ 
quire an intermediate host include the crop 
worm, Gongylonema ingluvicula Ransom, 
and the proventricular worms, Tetrameres 
americana Cram and Dispharynx spiralis 
(Molin). In continental United States G. in¬ 
gluvicula has been found to utilize the beetle 
