Population characteristics of Phthiraptera occurring on Red Whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Abstract

Two phthirapteran species, Menacanthus eurysternus (Amblycera) and Brueelia sp. (Ischnocera) were recovered from 100 Red Whiskered Bulbuls (Pycnonotus jocosus) during March to December 2006. The occurrence of both the phthirapteran species on the aforesaid host are new host records. The prevalence, intensity of infestation, range of infestation, variance to mean ratio, sex ratio, adult nymph ratio, index of discrepancy (D) and exponent of negative binomial (k) were computed. The frequency distribution pattern of M. eurysternus conforms to negative binomial model. The frequency distribution pattern of Brueelia sp. was skewed but not described by the negative binomial.