Distribution of the Quill Mite Bubophilus aluconis Parasitising Western Palaearctic Owls Belonging to the Genus Strix.

Abstract

Background: The paper presents the results of studies on the distribution of the parasitic quill mite species Bubophilus aluconis (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) in the feather quills of the Western Palaearctic owls of the genus Strix, that is, tawny owl S. aluco, collected in Poland and Sweden, the Ural owl S. uralensis, from Poland, Sweden, and Finland, and the great grey owl S. nebulosa, from Sweden and Finland. The two latter species are new hosts for B. aluconis. Methods: Feather samples of the tawny owl, Ural owl, and great grey owl used in this study come from Prof. Marian Cieślak's private collection, which contains feathers of Western Palearctic birds of prey and owls. Each of the 77 tawny owl, 75 Ural owl, and 55 great grey owl specimens are represented either by whole dry wings or a full complement of flight feathers (primaries (P) and secondaries (S)) and tails (rectrices (R)). Particular types of feathers were coded as follows: Ps, Ss, R, primary greater upperwing coverts (PGUppC), secondary greater upperwing coverts (SGUppC), primary greater underwing coverts (PGUndrC), secondary greater underwing coverts (SGUndrC), uppertail coverts (UppTC), and undertail coverts (UndrTC). Results: The prevalence was relatively low for all of the examined birds, that is, 12% for S. uralensis (N = 79), 2.6% for S. aluco (N = 77), and 3.6% for S. nebulosa (N = 55). In total, we examined 37,260 flight feathers and coverts. The mite B. aluconis occupied only the inner S of the tawny owl, secondary greater under and upperwing coverts of the great grey owl, and inner Ss, primary and secondary upperwing coverts, UndrTC, and coverts from the scapulars of the Ural owl. Conclusion: We hypothesise that the absence of these parasites in the examined P, S, and R suggests that these feather types might be unsuitable for the mites due to their thick quill walls, preventing successful feeding.