A total of 30 (20 males and 10 females) Speckled Pigeons trapped from the wild in Zaria and its environs, Nigeria, were examined for ectoparasites and intestinal helminths, to determine the prevalence, intensity and mean intensity of infestation and infection. The plumages of the birds were brushed onto a white sheet of paper placed in a tray for the collection of ectoparasites, while the gastrointestinal tracts of the birds were examined for helminths. Eighteen (60.0%) of the birds were infested by three species of ectoparasites. The ectoparasites comprised of lice: 17 (56.7%) Menopon gallinae Linnaeus 1758, 18 (60.0%) Columbicola columbae Linnaeus 1758 and flies: 9 (30.0%) Pseudolynchia canariensis Macquart 1840. Single, double and triple infestations were found in 1(3.3%), 8(26.7%) and 9(30.0%) respectively, though the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The sex-specific infestation rate was 12(60.0%) in males and 6(60.0%) in females. Seventeen (56.7%) birds were infected by helminths represented by four species of cestodes recovered from the gastrointestinal tract. The cestodes were represented by Raillietina tetragona Molin, 1858 1(3.3%), Raillietina cesticillus Molin, 1858 8(26.7%), Amoebotaenia cuneata Linstow, 1872 4(13.3%) and Hymenolepis carioca Magalhaes, 1898 4(13.3%). Single infection was the only infection type observed. The sex-specific rate of infection was 11(55.0%) in males and 6(60.0%) in females. This study portrays the Speckled Pigeons as a probable definitive host of some ectoparasites and helminths.
The diet of the barn owl in the Nigerian savanna was determined by analysis of 739 prey remains, made up largely of small mammalian species. Small mammals accounted for 92.2% of all remains, with rodents (76.0%), insectivores (12.3%) and chiropterans (3.1%) being the primary prey groups. Unidenti¢ed mammals accounted for 0.8%. Nile rat Arvicanthis niloticus was the favourite prey and accounted for 30.9% of all prey and 26.5% of prey biomass. Food habits varied among the four geo-ecological zones of the Nigerian savanna studied in several respects. The diets in Nguru and Baga were more diversi¢ed than in the other locations. Birds accounted for 4.7%, reptiles 1.6%, amphibians 1.1% and insects 0.4%. As a result of the preponderance of rodents and some granivorous birds in the diet of barn owls, the owls are deemed to be playing an important role in the biological control of these potential agricultural pests.
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