Bird Mite (or Northern Fowl Mite)
Scientific Name: Ornithonyssus sylviarum
Order & Family: Order Mesostigmata, Family Macronyssidae
Size: Approximately 0.5 to 1.0 mm (barely visible to the naked eye, appearing as a tiny speck)
Natural Habitat
Found in wild and domestic bird nests; they often enter human dwellings when birds abandon nests on or near buildings.
Diet & Feeding
Obligate blood-feeders. They primarily feed on the blood of birds but will bite humans if their avian host is unavailable.
Behavior Patterns
They are highly mobile and semi-persistent parasites. Their life cycle is rapid, often completing in 5 to 12 days, allowing populations to explode quickly.
Risks & Benefits
They pose no ecosystem benefits to humans. They cause intense itching (dermatitis) and irritation in humans but cannot survive or reproduce on human blood alone. They do not transmit diseases to humans.
Identified on: 4/17/2026