Detection of Blood Parasites in Different Pet Birds in Erbil City

The current study was conducted to find out the different species of blood parasites that infect pet birds (Melopsittacus undulatus, Carduelis chloris and Carduelis carduelis) and to know the infection rates with these parasites and their relationship with the sex of the bird, by examining (62) blood samples collected from three species of different pet birds in the Erbil city, of both sexes, during October 2019 to July 2021. The current study showed that pet birds were infected with Haemosporidian parasites with a total percentage of 35.48%, and the highest percentage was in the Eurasian goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) with 41.17%, followed by the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) with 31.25%, and the lowest rate was in the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) by 25%. Also, the study showed that the infection rate of Plasmodium spp. and Haemoproteus spp. was 77.27%, and 45.45% respectively. It was noted that there were no significant differences in the infection rates with blood parasites between males and females. While significant differences were recorded in the infection rates with species of blood parasites according to different types of infection, as the single infection recorded the highest infection rate of 77.27%, while the double infection was lower with a rate of 22.72%.