Bird Lice (of the suborder Ischnocera)
Scientific Name: Ischnocera (Suborder)
Order & Family: Order: Psocodea (formerly Phthiraptera), various families including Philopteridae
Size: 0.5 mm to 10 mm (typically around 2-3 mm)
Natural Habitat
Exclusively found on the bodies of birds, living among feathers and occasionally on the skin.
Diet & Feeding
They feed primarily on feather fragments, skin scales, and occasionally blood or oily secretions from the host bird.
Behavior Patterns
They are obligate ectoparasites that spend their entire life cycle on the host. They attach their eggs (nits) to feather shafts. If they fall off the host, they are generally unable to survive for long.
Risks & Benefits
They pose no direct health risk to humans as they are host-specific and cannot survive on human blood. For birds, heavy infestations can cause irritation, damage to plumage, and reduced fitness, but they are a natural part of the ecosystem.
Identified on: 12/31/2025