biting louse

Bird louse refers to any chewing louse (paraphyletic suborder Mallophaga) which parasitizes birds. Recent reclassification has found that bird lice belong to two suborders, Amblycera and Ischnocera, although some members of these suborders do not parasitize birds and are therefore not bird lice.

Bird lice may feed on feathers, skin, or blood, but usually do not cause much harm to a bird unless it is unusually infested. It is believed that all bird species have lice at least occasionally; some species are remarkably free of ectoparasites^{[citation needed]} while others have been observed to utilize plants with known insecticidal properties^{[citation needed]}.

References

• "Bird louse". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 28, 2005.

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