Seasonal Survey and Cox1-Based Molecular Characterization of Chewing Lice from Migratory Birds at the Shakpak Ornithological Station, Kazakhstan

Migratory birds host diverse ectoparasites, but molecular information on avian chewing lice from Central Asia remains limited. We characterized ectoparasites recovered from wild birds during spring and autumn migration at the Shakpak Ornithological Station, Kazakhstan, and molecularly characterized selected chewing lice. Field records from 20 April–10 May and 25 September–13 October 2025 were consolidated. Representative lice from four host species were photographically examined, and five selected isolates from a black kite (Milvus migrans), two barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), a European roller (Coracias garrulus), and a European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) underwent PCR amplification, bidirectional Sanger sequencing of a partial mitochondrial cox1 fragment, and phylogenetic analysis. Among 1882 examined birds, 99 ectoparasites were recovered, comprising 88 chewing lice and 11 blood-feeding flies. Because ectoparasite counts were available only as aggregate host-taxon records and were not linked to individual birds, the field data describe specimen recovery only and cannot be used to estimate infestation prevalence, mean abundance, or mean intensity. The five sequenced isolates were tentatively assigned at genus level to Craspedorrhynchus sp. (BL1), Brueelia sp. (BL2–BL3), Capraiella sp. (BL4), and Meropoecus sp. (BL5), with GenBank accessions PZ756682–PZ756686. Photographic morphology was broadly concordant with these genus-level placements, although bootstrap support was modest (54–58%). These findings provide baseline molecular data on migratory-bird chewing lice in Kazakhstan and support expanded individual-host, slide-mounted voucher, and multilocus surveillance.