Mite-filled cyst on a Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) in Florida, USA

J Wildl Dis. 2010 Oct;46(4):1279-83. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-46.4.1279.

Abstract

A large, partly pedunculated mass on the scapular area of a wild-caught captive Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) consisted of a multiloculated keratin cyst inhabited by a new species of harpirhynchid mite (Harpirhynchus quasimodo). The mass did not interfere with flight or behavior. This is the first record of such an infestation of cowbirds in Florida.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bird Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Bird Diseases / parasitology
  • Female
  • Florida / epidemiology
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Mite Infestations / epidemiology
  • Mite Infestations / veterinary*
  • Passeriformes / parasitology*