TABLE 1.
Bird species captured on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico during spring migration (2013 and 2014), which were screened for ticksa
| Bird species | Family | Foragingb | Rangec | No. sampled for ticksd | No. of ticks of indicated species isolated |
Total no. (%) infested | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. auricularium | A. coelebs | A. geayi | A. longirostre | A. maculatum/A. triste | A. nodosum | A. ovale | Amblyomma spp. | Ixodes spp. | Unknown tick species | ||||||
| Eastern wood-pewee (Contopus virens) | Tyrannidae | C | M, S | 49 | 1 | 1 | 2 (4.1) | ||||||||
| Acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) | Tyrannidae | C | M, C/S | 16 | 1 | 1 (6.3) | |||||||||
| Yellow-green vireo (Vireo flavoviridis) | Vireonidae | C | M, V | 1 | 1 | 1 (100) | |||||||||
| White-eyed vireo (Vireo griseus) | Vireonidae | C | L | 134 | 1 | 1 | 2 (1.5) | ||||||||
| Philadelphia vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) | Vireonidae | C | M, C | 32 | 1 | 1 (3.1) | |||||||||
| Red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus) | Vireonidae | C | M, S | 148 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 (5.4) | |||||||
| House wren (Troglodytes aedon) | Troglodytidae | U | L | 14 | 1 | 1 (7.1) | |||||||||
| Veery (Catharus fuscescens) | Turdidae | G | M, S | 42 | 1 | 1 | 2 (4.8) | ||||||||
| Gray-cheeked thrush (Catharus minimus) | Turdidae | G | M, S | 39 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 (7.7) | |||||||
| Swainson's thrush (Catharus ustulatus) | Turdidae | G | M, C/S | 158 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 10 (6.3) | ||||||
| Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) | Turdidae | G | M, C | 47 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 (10.6) | ||||||
| Gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) | Mimidae | U | M, C | 646 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 (0.9) | |||||
| Brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) | Mimidae | G | L | 7 | 1 | 1 (14.3) | |||||||||
| Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) | Parulidae | G | M, C | 42 | 1 | 1 (2.4) | |||||||||
| Worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum) | Parulidae | U | M, C | 33 | 2 | 2 (6.1) | |||||||||
| Northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) | Parulidae | G | M, C/S | 78 | 1 | 1 (1.3) | |||||||||
| Black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia) | Parulidae | C | M, C/S | 89 | 3 | 1 | 4 (4.5) | ||||||||
| Prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) | Parulidae | C | M, C/S | 14 | 1 | 1 (7.1) | |||||||||
| Tennessee warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) | Parulidae | C | M, C/S | 208 | 1 | 1 | 2 (1.0) | ||||||||
| Kentucky warbler (Geothlypis formosa) | Parulidae | U | M, C/S | 59 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 (10.2) | |||||||
| Common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) | Parulidae | U | L | 260 | 1 | 1 (0.4) | |||||||||
| Hooded warbler (Setophaga citrina) | Parulidae | U | M, C | 90 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 (4.4) | ||||||
| Bay-breasted warbler (Setophaga castanea) | Parulidae | C | M, S | 13 | 1 | 1 (7.7) | |||||||||
| Chestnut-sided warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) | Parulidae | C | M, C/S | 19 | 2 | 2 (10.5) | |||||||||
| Yellow-breasted chat (Icteria virens) | Parulidae | U | M, C | 1 | 1 | 1 (100) | |||||||||
| White-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) | Emberizidae | G | L | 1 | 1 | 1 (100) | |||||||||
| Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) | Emberizidae | G | L | 7 | 1 | 1 (14.3) | |||||||||
| Swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) | Emberizidae | G | L | 12 | 3 | 3 (25.0) | |||||||||
| Lincoln's sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) | Emberizidae | G | L | 58 | 2 | 1 | 3 (5.2) | ||||||||
| Rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) | Cardinalidae | C | M, C | 102 | 1 | 1 (1.0) | |||||||||
| Blue grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) | Cardinalidae | C | M, C | 19 | 1 | 1 (5.3) | |||||||||
| Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea) | Cardinalidae | G | M, C | 397 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 16 (4.0) | ||||||
| Scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) | Cardinalidae | C | M, S | 46 | 1 | 1 | 2 (4.3) | ||||||||
| Painted bunting (Passerina ciris) | Cardinalidae | C | M, C | 157 | 1 | 2 | 3 (1.9) | ||||||||
| Summer tanager (Piranga rubra) | Cardinalidae | C | M, C/S | 54 | 2 | 2 | 4 (7.4) | ||||||||
| Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | Cardinalidae | C | L | 54 | 8 | 8 (14.8) | |||||||||
| Total | 3,097 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 32 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 112 (2.9) | |||
Species with at least one infested individual are shown (3,844 individuals of 85 species screened). Bird species were categorized according to foraging height during migration (ground, understory, and canopy/subcanopy) and whether their winter range was south of the Gulf of Mexico or included the study region (intercontinental migrant or local, respectively). We further categorized migrants on the extent of their wintering range (Central America and the Caribbean, Central and South America and the Caribbean, or South America). We captured one infested vagrant species from Central America that does not normally occur in Texas.
C, canopy/subcanopy; U, understory; G, ground.
Stationary nonbreeding range described as local (L) or migrant (M). C, Central America and the Caribbean; C/S, Central and South America and the Caribbean; S, South America; V, vagrant from Central America.
An additional 698 individuals of 49 species were sampled for ticks and were not infested.