Helminths from spring and fall migrant bufflehead ducks (<i>Bucephala albeola</i>) at Delta, Manitoba, Canada

Abstract

The digestive tracts of one local, eight spring migrant, and 16 fall migrant bufflehead ducks (Bucephala albeola L.) collected at Delta, Manitoba, were examined for helminths. Twenty-five species (5 nematode, 8 trematode, 11 cestode, and 1 acanthocephalan) were found. Thirteen species occurred in both spring and fall migrants, four occurred in spring migrants only, and six were found only in fall migrants. The species composition of the helminth fauna of buffleheads resembles that of lesser scaup more closely than that of any other anatid species studied to date.