PARASITES OF DOMESTIC (COLUMBA LIVIA DOMESTICA) AND WILD (COLUMBA LIVIA LIVIA) PIGEONS IN NIĞDE, TURKEY

Faecal samples were taken from 251 pigeons (136 domestic pigeons and 115 wild ones). The samples were examined through the centrifugal flotation method using Sheather’s saturated sugar solution. In addition, all the samples were examined for Cryptosporidium oocysts by using a modified acid-fast staining method. Coccidia oocysts were detected in 81 (59.6%) domestic pigeons and in 35 (30.4%) wild pigeons. Coccidian species identified in domestic pigeons were as follows: Eimeria labbeana (58.1%); E. columbarum (30.9%); E. columbae (22.1%); and Isospora sp. (18.4%). In wild pigeons, the oocysts of the following species were detected: Eimeria labbeana (28.7%), E. columbarum (10.4%), E. columbae (5.2%), and Isospora sp. (13.0%). Helminth eggs were found in faeces of 32 (23.5%) domestic pigeons and in five (4.3%) wild pigeons. The following helminth species were identified: Capillaria sp. (19.9%) Ascaridia columbae (5.1%), and Heterakis sp. (3.7%) in domestic pigeons; and Capillaria sp. (4.3%) and Syngamus sp. (1.7%) in wild pigeons. Cryptosporidium oocysts were not observed in the faecal samples of both domestic and wild pigeons