On 31 Jul 1996, LINDA GOOSSEN wrote:
> studies on tree swallows. The student has found a parasite
> - in the bird feces - and needs to identify it. First of
> all, I'd like a good reference book or text for avian
> parasites,
a couple of good references for parasite eggs found in fecal
examinations:
Diagnosing helminthiasis by coprological examination, 2nd ed,
(1985) D. Thienpont et al, Janssen Research Foundation, Beerse
Belgium
This book has great color pictures of eggs from mammalian and avian
hosts. However, it only covers helminths
Clinical Veterinary Parasitology, 6th ed (1992?), M. Sloss et al.
Iowa State Univ Press.
This book has b&w pictures of diagnostic products of numerous helminth and
protozoal parasites. It lacks specific info on size for a number
of parasites and you have to extrapolate from scale bars of
various sizes. However, it is a good book and the photos are pretty
clear with good contrast overall.
> maybe someone has an idea of what
> organism it may be. The student describes it as : small
> (Maybe 10 u). oval, greenish tint, bipolar knobs of some
> sort, and ciliated (he thinks) - I know that's vague - I
> without knowing the actual size (your Bio prof friend needs to
invest in an occular micrometer and calibrate his/her scope if they want
to seriously pursue this work) some good guesses are:
Capillaria sp. - medium sized eggs (40x20 um, with distinct
bipolar plugs, often with a greenish tint. The pitted shell may look like
cillia as one focuses up and down if you are unfamiliar with helminth
eggs.
Tetrameres sp. - a medium size egg (33x25 um). It also has bipolar
plugs, and a greenish tint. The walls of the egg are smooth, and it
contains a larva, however.
Good luck!
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* Charles T. Faulkner, M.A. *
* Clinical Parasitology Service *
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