During the summers of 1963 and 1964, in the course of field work
on the Beartooth Plateau, Park County, Wyoming and Carbon
County, Montana, at an elevation of ca 3550 m, we preserved
parasites from 52 adult specimens of the Water Pipit (Antbus
spinoletta alticola). Since there is a paucity of information about
the parasites of this species in North America, we thought it im-
portant to publish the results and to present a compilation of known
parasites (Table 1).
Mallophaga.--The earliest comprehensive listing of North
American Mallophaga (Kellogg, 1899) does not report any lice from
the genus Antbus. A subsequent compilation (Malcoresort, 1960)
does mention two species: Bru1/2lia corydalla (Host: Antbus pratends)
from Iceland (Timmermann, 1950) and Ricinus japonicus (Host:
Antbus s. japonicus) from Japan (Uchida, 1915). Gross (1937)
recorded Philopterus subfiavescens (Host: A. s. rubeseels) from the
coast of Labrador. Hopkins and Clay (1952), however, regard
subfiavescens as a descriptive phrase and not as a name, and thus
do not list the genus Antbus as host of the genus Philopteru.
Recently, BalSt (1955) found three species of Mallophaga (Phil-
opterus banaki, Ricinus japonicus and Menacanthus sp.) on A. s.
spinoletta from the Tatra Mountains of Czechoslovakia.
On the Beartooth Plateau we found four of the 52 pipits infested
with Ricinus japoicus, two with Menacanthus sp. and one with
both Menacanthus sp. and Bruelia sp.. Specimens of these lice have
been deposited in the collections of the Department of Entomology,
University of Mimmsota. The present known distribution of
Mallophaga from the genus Athus is shown in Table 2.
Acarina.--In 1964 five birds were sacrificed in search of nasal
mites. Two of these five birds, both females, contained respectively
16 and six Ptilonyssus sp.. Neither Pereira and Castro (1949) nor
George (1961) list the genus Athus as host for the genus Ptiloryssus.
The specimens are deposited in the collection of the Department of
Zoology, University of Montana.
Nematoda.--Two of the 52 adult birds were infested with Dip-
lotriaena ozouxi. The parasites were located in the body cavity and
air sacks in the region of the trachea and gizzard. The same species
was reported by Spasskaja (1949) for the Tree Pipit (Antbus
tr&ialis) from Western Siberia. The specimens are deposited with
the collection of the Department of Zoology, University of Montana
(U of M 778-779-780).
Acknowledgmets.--For identification of specimens we thank
Dr. R. D. Price, University of Minnesota (Mallophaga); Dr. G. M.
Clark and C. M. Clifford, Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Hamilton,
Montana (Acarina) and Dr. R. C. Anderson, Ontario Research
Foundation for confirming our nematode identification. We also
34] Aricolaas A M. Verbeek W. P. Ca'ney Bird-Bnding
ß - Jnury
TABLE 2. DISTRIBUTION OF THE MALLOPHAGA OF THE GENUS ANTHUS
Mallophaga A. s. spinoletta A. s. alticola A. s. japonicus A. pratensis
Philopterus hanzaki
Menacanthus sp.
Ricinus japonicus +
Bruelia sp.
Bruelia corydalla
+
+
+
Location Czechoslovakia Montana- Japan Iceland
Source Baler, 1955 Wyoming Uchida, Timmermann,
This paper 1915 1950
wish to acknowledge the help of Miss Judith Humphrey, Beltsville
Parasitological Laboratory, for her assistance in locating references.
In 1963 the field worl was supported by a grant from the Chapman
Memorial Fund, American Museum of Natural History and a
Louis Aggassiz Fuertes Research Grant, Wilson Ornithological
Society. Support from a National Science Foundation grant,
administered by Drs. R. D. Taber and R. S. Hoffmann, is gratefully
acknowledged for the summer of 1964. We thank Dr. F. A. Pitelka
for some editorial suggestions.
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Received May, 1967.