The Coccidia of Falconiformes
(caracara, eagles, falcons, goshawks, harriers, hawks, kestrels, kites, osprey, vultures)

Compiled by
Donald W. Duszynski1, Steve J. Upton2, and Lee Couch1

1Department of Biology, University of New Mexico
2Division of Biology, Kansas State University


Supported by NSF-PEET DEB 9521687

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Updated: 2 May 1999
Comments: eimeria@unm.edu (Duszynski)
or coccidia@ksu.edu (Upton)


NOTE: It is unlikely that any of the following Eimeria or Isospora spp. are valid. Virtually all of the eimerians listed, and several isosporans, appear to represent coccidia of other birds or animals inadvertently ingested with the prey. The reports of the isosporans with thin oocyst walls represent the genus Sarcocystis.

Eimeria accipitris Schwalbach, 1959

Host: Accipiter nisus (European sparrow hawk - Accipitridae)
Reference: Schwalbach 1959
This may simply have been a pseudoparasite ingested by this hawk.

Eimeria asturi Galli-Valerio, 1935

Host: Accipiter gentalis (Northern goshawk - Accipitridae)
Reference: Galli-Valerio 1935
This may simply have been a pseudoparasite ingested by the goshawk.

Eimeria sp. of Huber, 1964

Host: Accipiter nisus (European sparrow hawk - Accipitridae)
Reference: Huber 1964
This may simply have been an eimerian ingested with the prey.

Eimeria sp. of Huber, 1964

Host: Falco tinnunculus (Eurasian kestrel - Falconidae)
Reference: Huber 1964
This may simply have been an eimerian ingested with the prey.

Eimeria sp. of Markus & Munday 1979

Host: Torgos tracheliotus (Lappet-faced vulture - Accipitridae)
Reference: Markus & Munday 1979
This may simply have been an eimerian ingested during scavenging.

Eimeria sp. of Markus & Munday 1979

Host: Gyps africanus (African white-backed vulture - Accipitridae)
Reference: Markus & Munday 1979
This may simply have been an eimerian ingested during scavenging.

Eimeria sp. of Markus & Munday 1979

Host: Gyps coprotheres (Cape vulture - Accipitridae)
Reference: Markus & Munday 1979
This may simply have been an eimerian ingested during scavenging.

Eimeria sp. of Markus & Munday 1979

Host: Necrosyrtes monachus (Hooded vulture - Accipitridae)
Reference: Markus & Munday 1979
This may simply have been an eimerian ingested during scavenging.

Eimeria sp. of Rachmatullina & Svanbaev, 1971

Synonym: Eimeria accipitris Schwalbach, 1959 of Rachmatullina & Svanbaev, 1971
Host: Hieraaetus (?) fasciata (Bonelli's eagle - Accipitridae)
Reference: Rachmatullina & Svanbaev 1971
This may simply have been an eimerian ingested with the prey.

Isospora buteonis Henry, 1932 of Mathey, 1966

Host: Aquila chrysaetos (Golden eagle - Accipitridae)
Reference: Mathey 1966
This is a Sarcocystis sp.

Isospora buteonis Henry, 1932

Host: Accipiter cooperii (Cooper's hawk - Accipiteridae), Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed hawk - Accipiteridae),
Buteo swainsoni (Swainson's hawk - Accipiteridae)
Reference: Henry 1932
These are Sarcocystis spp.

Isospora buteonis Henry, 1932 of Holling & Fowle, 1955

Host: Accipiter gentalis (Northern goshawk - Accipiteridae)
Reference: Holling & Fowle 1955
This is a Sarcocystis sp.

Isospora buteonis Henry, 1932 of Mathey, 1966

Host: Aquila chrysaetos (Golden eagle - Accipitridae), Falco sparverius (American kestrel - Falconidae)
Reference: Mathey 1966
These are Sarcocystis spp.

Isospora cheeli Bhatia, Pande, & Garg, 1970

Host: Milvus migrans (Black kite - Accipitridae)
Reference: Bhatia et al. 1970
This is a Sarcocystis sp.

Isospora gypsi Patnaik & Mohanty, 1969

Host: Gyps bengalensis (Indian white-backed vulture - Accipitridae)
Reference: Patnaik & Mohanty 1969
This is probably an Isospora sp. from another bird that was ingested by the vulture.

Isospora scholtysecki Rachmatullina & Svanbaev, 1971

Host: Accipiter nisus (European sparrow hawk - Accipiteridae), Falco naumanni (Lesser kestrel - Falconidae )
Reference: Rachmatullina & Svanbaev 1971
This is probably an Isospora sp. from another bird that was ingested by the vulture.

Isospora sp. of Faust & Pappas, 1977

Host: Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Bald eagle - Accipitridae)
Reference: Mathey 1966
This is probably a Sarcocystis sp.

"Intestinal coccidia"

Host: Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Bald eagle - Accipitridae)
Reference: Coon et al. 1969; Reichel et al. 1969

Unknown coccidian of Gottschalk, 1972

Host: Buteo buteo (Common buzzard - Accipitridae)
Reference: Gottschalk 1972
This may simply have been a pseudoparasite ingested by the hawk.

References

Bhatia, B.B., Pande, B.P., and Garg, R.K. 1970. Coccidian infection of the Pariah kite. Indian Journal of Microbiology 10: 49-52.

Coon, N.C., Locke, L.N., Cromartie, E., and Reichel, W.L. 1970. Causes of bald eagle mortality, 1960-1965. Journal of Wilflife Diseases 6: 72-76.

Faust, B.S., and P.W. Pappas. 1977. A survey of coccidia and helminth paraistes of birds at the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo. Journal of Zoo Animal Medicine 8: 18-23.

Gottschalk, C. 1972. Beitrag zur Faunistik der Vogelkokzidien Thuringens und Sachsens. Beitraege zur Vogelkunde, Leipzig, 18: 61-69.

Henry, D. 1932. Isospora buteonis sp. nov. from the hawk and owl, and notes on Isospora lacazii (Labbe) in birds. University of California Publications in Zoology 37: 291-299.

Holling, J., and Fowle, C.D. 1955. Isospora buteonis Henry in the goshawk (Accipiter gentalis). Journal of Parasitology 41: 638-639.

Huber, E. 1964. Die Endoparasiten von Vogelen des Munchner Tierparks Hellabrunn unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der jahreszeitlichen Schwankungen in der Wurmausscheidung. PhD dissertation, Universitat Munchen, Munich. 45 pp.

Markus, M.B., and Mundy, P.J. 1979. Intestinal Sarcocystis infection in vultures and its significance. Parasitology 79: 39.

Mathey, W.J. 1966. Isospora buteonis Henry 1932 in an American kestrel (Falco sparverius) and a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Bulletin of the Wildlife Disease Association 2: 20-22.

Patnaik, M.M. and Mohanty, D.N. 1969. Isospora gypsi n. sp. a new coccidian from the Indian vulture (Gyps bengalensis). Current Science 38: 316.

Rakhamullina, N.K. and Svanaev, S.K. 1971. Some data on the coccidia in wild birds in Kazhakistan. Akademaii Nauk Kazhakskoii SSR, Trudy Instituta Zoologii 31: 171-177.

Reichel, W.L., Lamont, T.G., Cromartie, E., and Locke, L.N. 1969. Residues in two bald eagles suspected of pesticide poisoning. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 4: 24-30.

Schwalbach, G. 1959. Untersuchungen und Beobachtungen an Coccidien der Gattungen Eimeria, Isospora und Caryospora bei Vogeln mit einer Beschreibung von Sechzehn neuen Arten. Archiv fur Protistenkunde 104: 431-491.

Upton, S.J., Campbell, T.W., Weigel, M., and McKown, R.D. 1990. The Eimeriidae (Apicomplexa) of raptors: review of the literature and description of new species of the genera Caryospora and Eimeria. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 1256-1265.