Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify the ectoparasite community that may be found on the body of Glossy Ibis chicks Plegadis falcinellus in two Algerian wetlands, Chatt and Lake Fetzara, during the breeding season of 2010. Birds were parasitized by the following chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) species at both study sites: Plegadiphilus plegadis and Colpocephalum leptopygos (both Menoponidae), Ardeicola rhaphidius and Ibidoecus bisignatus (both Philopteridae). In addition, one tick (larva) Ixodes ricinus was also found at Lake Fetzara. All these ectoparasites were recorded in Algeria for the first time. Results showed that chewing lice varied in their spatial distribution at the infracommunity level with some species displaying no microhabitat preferences, whereas others confined themselves to specific body parts of their hosts. The recorded frequency pattern of chewing lice followed the negative binomial distribution.
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