Feather MitesDavid Randall, of the Electron Microscope & FACS Lab, and I are examining the feather mites on the flight feathers of common birds. We examine live birds, fresh corpses and museum skins. So far we have examined over 3,000 individuals of over 90 species of British birds. One of our aims is to determine host-records for mite species in Britain, rather than simply assuming that mites recorded elsewhere also occur here. Mites do not seem to have been previously recorded for some of the birds we have examined. An introduction to our study of Proctophyllodid mites, much of the fieldwork for which is now done at Rye Bay in the far east of Sussex. One particular area of interest is the extent to which mite load may reflect poor body condition of the bird host. We are far from convinced, however, that feathers mites are often parasitic. Click here for more pictures of feather mites (the gallery is incomplete). Recent publications
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