Feather mites of the genus Trouessartia (Acariformes: Trouessartiidae) from passerines (Aves: Passeriformes) in Georgia, USA

Ten new species of the feather mite genus Trouessartia Canestrini, 1899 (Analgoidea: Trouessartiidae) are described from various passerines of the superfamily Passeroidea in Georgia: Trouessartia americana sp. n. from Setophaga americana (Linnaeus), T. helmitheros sp. n. from Helmitheros vermivorum (Gmelin, JF), T. mniotilta sp. n. from Mniotilta varia (Linnaeus), T. pensylvanica sp. n. from Setophaga pensylvanica (Linnaeus) (type host) and S. palmarum (Gmelin, JF), T. ruticilla sp. n. from S. ruticilla (Linnaeus), T. seiurus sp. n. from Seiurus aurocapilla (Linnaeus), T. tigrina sp. n. from Setophaga tigrina (Gmelin, JF) (Parulidae), T. passerinae sp. n. from Passerina caerulea (Linnaeus) (type host) and P. cyanea (Linnaeus), T. ciris sp. n. from P. ciris (Linnaeus) (Cardinalidae), and T. spizellae sp. n. from Spizella passerina (Bechstein) (Passerellidae). Based on a specific combination of morphological characters, all new species and six previously known species are arranged into a new species group capensis in the genus Trouessartia. The most important diagnostic characters of this species group include: in both sexes, the dorsal hysterosomal apertures are absent; in males, the postgenital plaque is well developed and genital setae g have cylindrical articulation rings; in females, the external copulatory tube is straight, stylet- or finger-like, and situated on the margin of the interlobar membrane, and the head of spermatheca has a semi-ovate extension without indentations. A key to all species referred to the capensis group is provided and host associations of this group with passerines are summarized and briefly discussed. It is hypothesized that this species group originated on the ancestors of New World nine-primaried oscines (Emberizoidea) and diverged in close relation with this group of hosts.

Daytime sleeping behavior observed in a Black-and-white Warbler during spring stopover

Nocturnally migrating birds experience loss of sleep during the migratory period especially when undertaking long, non-stop flights. We report a field observation of daytime sleeping behavior in a Black-andwhite Warbler (Mniotilta varia) during spring migration. It is likely that this individual was compensating from sleep loss experienced during a trans-Gulf of Mexico flight. Only a few observations of daytime sleeping behavior have been reported in free-living migrants and all have been associated with long-distance flights in relation to ecological barriers.

Coccidia in passerines from the Nevado de Toluca National Park, Mexico

In this study, we found unsporulated coccidia oocysts in passerines from the Nevado de Toluca National Park, Mexico. We captured birds and took samples of their droppings during three field visits. We examined a total of 72 fecal samples and found unsporulated coccidia oocysts in 10 samples from five passerine species: Atlapetes pileatus (3), Cardelina ruber (1), Mniotilta varia (1), Oreothlypis celata (2) and Regulus calendula (3). This appears to be the first recorded study of unsporulated coccidia oocysts in passerine species from Mexico