Prevalence of Chewing Lice Species on Cattle Egret ( <i>Bubulcus ibis</i> ) Birds in Al-Diwaniyah City, Iraq

Introduction: Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) is one of the waterfowl birds residing in Iraq, lives in colonies and accompanies buffalo and cows in fields and pastures, it belongs to the family Ardeidae, which includes 60 species of waterfowl that inhabit temperate and tropical regions, it feeds on crustaceans and fish , and in some agroecosystems helps control insect pests , as well as, it cleans livestock from ticks and flies, however, it might potentially have a role in the dissemination of diseases carried by ticks to animals. The purpose of this study was to identify and isolate the species of louse that were found on 69 cattle egrets (B. ibis), which were collected between September 2023 and April 2024 from various locations throughout Al-Diwaniyah province. Methods: Between September 2023 and April 2024 sixty-nine Cattle egret (B. ibis) birds including 37 males and 32 females were collected from various locations throughout the city of Al-Diwaniyah for this study, they were subsequently taken to the University of Al-Qadisiyah’s parasite laboratory at the biology department of the College of Education. After being removed from the birds, the louse specimens were placed in Petri dishes containing 70% alcohol to remove any remaining feathers, cleaned in 10% (KOH) for one day, distilled water wash, and then placed on slides with Canada balsam, observed under a light microscope, and identify in accordance with Price et al. Results: Forty-two of the birds (60.86%) from 69 were found to be infested, and five species of chewing lice were reported: Ciconiphilus decimfasciatus, Menopon gallinae, Ardeicola ciconiae, Anaticola phoenicopterid, and Ciconiphilus quadripustulatus. The results showed that the rate of infestation with chewing lice in male and female birds was (62.16%) and (59.37%) respectively, and the infestation rate with one species of louse was (30.95%), with two species (52.38%), while infestation rate with three species of louse was (16.66%). Conclusion: This study showed that lice were present in a high percentage (60.86%) in Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) birds in the city of Diwaniyah, Iraq. There were five identified species of chewing lice in the current study: Menopon gallinae, Ciconiphilus decimfasciatus, Anaticola phoenicopterid, Ardeicola ciconiae, and Ciconiphilus quadripustulatus.