10 
The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
[Feb. 
NOTES ON SOME AVIAN HAEMATOZOA OBSERVED 
IN NEW ZEALAND. 
By A. B. Dore. 
During the systematic examination of blood-films from various birds in 
the North Island, extending over a period of several years, two varieties 
of malarial parasites were observed in imported birds. 
Halteridium (Danilewskyi) of the Song-thrush (Turdus musicus). 
The infected birds were shot at Kimihia, sixty miles south of Auckland, 
on the 3rd February, 1917. Blood-films were prepared direct from the heart, 
fixed in absolute alcohol, and stained by the Giemsa method. As all the 
birds were shot in the bush it was impossible to study the parasites in the 
living state. The blood-films were stained and examined two weeks later. 
The adult parasites appeared as halter-shaped bodies lying within the 
erythrocytes and embracing the nuclei on one side, frequently occupying 
two-thirds of the host cell. The average measurements of the halteridia 
were as follow : Length, 10 y ; breadth, L6 y, to 3’2 /x. 
The halteridia often showed a marked constriction facing the host nucleus, 
whilst the ends of the parasites were considerably broader. The nuclei of the 
halteridia, which were usually central in 
position, were very irregular in shape, 
and did not alwavs retain the stain. 
«/ 
Melanin occurred in small compact 
masses, generally situated at the poles 
of the parasite, but in some cases it 
was irregularly distributed. Young de¬ 
veloping forms were present in scanty 
numbers, measuring from 2 /x upwards, 
and were situated at the distal end 
of the erythrocyte. Multiple infection 
was occasionally observed, and the 
greatest number of parasites in a cell 
was three. The percentage of infected 
erythrocytes from different thrushes varied from 5 per cent, to 12 per cent. 
According to Minchin,* the halteridia are readily distinguishable by the 
characters of the cytoplasm, which is darker in the female, and of the 
nucleus, which is larger in the male. A count of 200 consecutive adult 
parasites based upon this classification showed the following percentages: 
Male gametocytes, 60 per cent.; female gametocytes, 40 per cent. 
Measurements of hosts, erythrocytes :— 
7 J J Average Average 
Length. Breadth. 
Corpuscles .. .. .. .. 12 - 6 /x 6'5 /i 
Nuclei . . .. .. .. 5'2 /x 2 - 4 p. 
Measurements of erythrocytes containing parasites :—■ 
Average Average 
Length. Breadth. 
Corpuscles .. .. . . .. 12°9 p, 6’5 /x 
Nuclei . . .. . . .. 5*2 /x 2*5 /x 
* Minchix, E. A., An Introduction to the Study of the Protozoa. London : Ed. 
Arnold, 1912. 
6 ) 
Fig. 1.—Halteridium of the thrush. 
a, Young developing form. 
