Although the term ectoparasites can broadly include blood-sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes (because they are dependent on a blood meal from a human host for their survival), this term is generally used more narrowly to refer to organisms such as ticks, fleas, lice, and mites that attach or burrow into the skin and remain there for relatively long periods of time (e.g., weeks to months). ❋ Unknown (2008)
Dispatching certain ectoparasites – notably fleas and feather lice – isn’t easy because the tough, flattened bodies of these arthropods are really good at resisting pressure. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
In particular we’re going to look at how birds have evolved to cope with certain ectoparasites. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
In Dinosaurs of the Air Greg Paul illustrated a Sinosauropteryx scratching in order to remove ectoparasites, and the cover of The Dinosauria, Second Edition (the current industry-standard volume on dinosaurs) features a Sinosauropteryx (this time by Mark Hallett) nibbling at its proto-feathers, again presumably as a form of ectoparasite control. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
So did they also have to contend with ectoparasites? ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
So I would be confident that Mesozoic birds, and fuzzy and feathered non-avian theropods, had to contend with ectoparasites. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
Though there are bird species with specialized pedal claws that function in preening (namely herons, pratincoles and nightjars), birds rely on their bills when cleaning their feathers and removing ectoparasites. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
Terrestrial birds whose plumage is superficially similar to that of fuzzy small theropods are notorious for harbouring ectoparasites, with kiwis in particular being reported to crawl with numerous fleas, ticks, feather mites and lice (Kleinpaste 1991). ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
Well, maybe not, as birds can also use sunning, dust-bathing and other behaviours to control ectoparasites. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
We also know that ectoparasites were infesting feathers by the Cretaceous at least. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
Not all birds have maxillary overhangs: as Clayton et al. noted, many birds with specialized bills (including oystercatchers, darters, herons, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and scythebills) lack overhangs altogether, yet we know that these species have ectoparasites. ❋ Darren Naish (2006)
