Prevalence of endoparasites in pigeons

Single or mixed infection of castode, nematode and protozoan parasites were recorded during postmortem examination of 40 pigeons collected from the Kamakhya Temple premises. Infection with Raillietina sp. (45%) was most predominant followed by Capillaria obsignata (40%), Ornithostrongylus quadriradiatus (22.5%), Strongyloides avium (15.0%), Hymenolepis sp. (10%), Cotugnia sp. (5.0%) and Ascaridia columbae (2.5%). Amongst protozoan infections, Haemoproteus columbae was predominant (60%) followed by Plasmodium relictum (27.5%) and Eimeria sp. (15.0%). Factors influencing the heavy parasitic load in temple pigeons are discussed.