A redescription of Neophilopterus tricolor (Burmeister, 1838) (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from the black stork Ciconia nigra (L.) (Aves) with notes on its prevalence

A redescription of Neophilopterus tricolor (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) is presented and its prevalence on black stork nestlings from Comunidad de Madrid (central Spain) is reported for 4 consecutive years. The presence of four long and two short temporal marginal setae, the second row of abdominal tergal setae located across the midline of the segment, and details of the male genitalia are the key differences between N. tricolor and N. incompletus (Denny, 1842). Lice were found only on birds sampled in the last 2 years of this study, infesting 11 nestlings from 19 nests. The overall prevalence for the 4 years is 22% (11 lousy hosts out of 50 nestlings examined). As far as we know, these are the first records and data on prevalence of Neophilopterus tricolor in the Spanish population of Ciconia nigra (L.).