Blood parasites in birds from the lowlands of northern Colombia

Blood samples from 302 wild and domesticated birds (75 species, 24 families) from two zones of lowlands in northern Colombia (Uraba Gulf and Lower Cauca) were examined for haematozoa. Microscopic observation of blood smears stained with Giemsa revealed twenty-eight individuals of 16 species (9.3% of all birds) infected with parasites of at least one genus. Plasmodium spp. accounted for 5.6% of the infections, followed by Haemoproteus spp. (2.6%), Leucocytozoon spp. (0.3%) and unidentified microfilariae (1.0%). This survey reports four species examined for the first time and four new records of hosts of haematozoa. In agreement with previous studies in the Neotropics, the prevalence of blood parasites was low in comparison to other regions of the world.