Abstract:
The prevalence of avian haematozoa in 826 species of birds representing 73 families of sub-Saharan
birds as recorded in the literature or in the files of the International Reference Centre for Avian
Haematozoa and the Veterinary Research Institute is presented. The most commonly occurring blood
parasites were members of the genus Haemoproteus which were represented by 63 species which occurred in 19,1% of the sample. Twenty-five species of Leucocytozoon were recorded in 8,3% of the
birds and represented the second most frequently encountered group of haematozoa. Species of Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, and filarioids (as microfilariae) occurred in 3,5%, 2,5% and 2,8% respectively of the birds sampled; species of Aegyptianella, Atoxoplasma, Babesia and Hepatozoon were infrequently
seen.
An annotated list of the birds examined for haematozoa is presented and brief descriptions of the species of Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon in birds of the sub-Saharan zone are included.
