Blood parasites of birds in Central Europe. 3. Plasmodium and Haemoproteus

The present paper is the third in the series on blood parasites of birds in Central Europe. It is devoted to the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. Plasmodium has been found in 11.3% of birds belonging to 54 species, most abundant being in Galliformes and Columbiformes. On the other hand, this parasite seems to be absent in Anseriformes, Falconiformes, Hirundinidae and Sturnidae in Central Europe. Haemoproteus has been encountered in the studied region in 11.8% of birds belonging to 85 species. It is most abundant in Falconiformes, Strigiformes, Hirundinidae, Emberizidae, Fringillidae, Muscicapidae, Paridae and Turdidae, but it has not been encountered in Anseriformes. The paper also discusses the dependence of the incidence of these parasites on migratory ability of their hosts and on the nest ecology of birds. Moreover, an ecological outline is given of the representatives of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus in birds in Central Europe, mainly on the basis of the ecological model of avian malaria after Beaudoin et al. (1971).