Ectoparasites of Birds in the New Jersey Meadowlands

Juhi Rawal

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: Hennings College of Science Mathematics and Technology

Major: BS.BIO/ENVIR

Faculty Research Mentor: O'Connor, Cailin  

Abstract:

Data from the Meadowlands Bird Banding Station (MBBS) in North Arlington, New Jersey, were analyzed to determine the higher taxa and prevalence of external parasites on passerines encountered during standard banding operations in 2024-25. Ectoparasites included several species of ticks, feather mites, feather lice, and louse flies with ticks being the most common parasites encountered by far. Though only a small percentage (~3.1%) of all birds encountered (134 out of 4361) had ectoparasites, parasites were found on at least one individual from 32 different species. Species with the highest incidence of ectoparasites were those foraging close to the ground in dense foliage, such as Common Yellowthroats (COYE) and Gray Catbirds. COYE alone accounted for ~44% of the individuals carrying parasites and represented the greatest proportion of individuals within a species having parasites; almost 10% of all encountered COYE had at least one tick, for example. Birds parasitized by ticks averaged three parasites per host, but several outliers had up to 16 ticks per host, notably an Ovenbird with 15 ticks and a COYE with 16. All ticks found attached to birds during this study were collected and transferred to a collaborating tick biologist researching the movement of human tickborne pathogens across landscapes for further analysis.