A Survey Of Columbiformes (Columbia Livia) Ectoparasites And Endoparasites In Western Sarawak

Columba livia are feral pigeons that are distributed globally and live within the human buildings. This study was done to survey the ecto- and endoparsites prevalence of Columba livia and compare the diversities between peridomestic region and pet shop. A total of 40 pigeons captured from BDC residential areas and purchased from a pet shop were used in this study. The findings of this study showed that both peridomestic and pet shop pigeons were highly infected with different types of ectoparasites species. A total of eight species of ectoparasites were detected from these pigeon samples. These include seven species of lice, namely Columbicola columbae, Menacanthus stramineus, Menopon gallinae,Campanulotes compar,Goniodes sp., Chelopistes meleagridis, and Colpocephalum turbinate. Only one species of fly, Pseudolychia canariensis, was detected in 15 out of 40 pigeon samples. No endoparasites were detected in the pigeon blood and feces smear specimens. There is no association between the pigeon ectoparasites and the sampling habitats based on Chi-square test. Pigeon from peridomestic pigeons and pet shop showed comparable ectoparasite species diversity indices. However, the evenness of ectoparasites species detected from pigeons captured at peridomestic region was higher than those purchased from the pet shop