Chewing lice on migratory Himalayan griffon vultures (Gyps himalayensis) in Thailand

Objective - To identify the wingless ectoparasites in wintering Himalayan griffon vultures in Thailand

Materials and Methods - A total of 50 ectoparasites from six Himalayan griffon vultures which were caught in Phuket, Trang, Satun, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, and Surat Thani between January-March 2009 were collected. The ectoparasites were processed for permanent slides by hydroxide method. The parasitological identification was done under microscopy

Results - Three types of chewing lice were identified as followings: Colpocephalum spp. (Amblycera: Colpocephalidae), Falcolipeurus quadripustulatus (Ischnocera: Philopteridae) and Aegypoecus griffoneae (Ischnocera: Philopteridae).

Conclusion - All of collected ectoparasites from the migratory birds were chewing lice. Falcolipeurus quadripustulatus was predominantly found on all of Himalayan griffon vultures.