Abstract:

Faunistical and ecological studies on avian lice (Mallophaga) carried out in Hungary and Romania in the past two decades are briefly reviewed. These efforts aimed at describing the louse fauna of the region and collecting information about some aspects of the natural history of lice, such as host-speciftcity, site-specificity, phoresy, breeding and foraging behaviour. Camouflage coloration and body shape of lice are discussed in relation to avian preening. Avian coloniality also appears to influence the population ecology of lice.