The coccidia of Columbiformes

Compiled by
Donald W. Duszynski and Lee Couch
Department of Biology, University of New Mexico
and
Steve J. Upton
Division of Biology, Kansas State University

Supported by NSF-PEET DEB 9521687

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright 1999-2000. Material at this site is intellectual property and is protected by the International Berne Convention Treaty and by copyright laws of the United States of America. Permission hereby is granted by the authors for individuals to make copies of any portion of this work for personal or classroom use, without fee, providing that the information is not distributed for profit or for commerical advantage. Any use of this information for scientific purposes, such as contained in taxonomic review articles, books, book chapters, or monographs, MUST be accompanied by an appropriate credit citing the above authors by name and acknowledging NSF grant PEET DEB 9521687. Any use of this information for profit or other commercial gain must be negotiated with the authors.

Updated: 14 March 2000
Comments: eimeria@unm.edu or coccidia@ksu.edu


The identifications and measurements of Eimeria spp. from Columba livia have repeatedly been confused over the years and the published descriptions unreliable. It is likely that only two species occur in pigeons, and it may even be eventually shown that only a single species occurs. The sizes of the oocysts overlap and the two species are morphologically very similar. Eimeria labbeana is considered the smaller of the two, has a polar granule but no oocyst residuum, and the sporocysts are smaller and have a small Stieda body. Eimeria columbarum has a small amount of residual debris within the oocysts and a slightly more distinct Stieda body. Perhaps the best published comparison of the two species is by Nieschulz (1925).


  1. Eimeria columbae Mitra and Das Gupta, 1937
    1. Host: Columba livia (Rock dove or domestic pigeon)
    2. References: Mitra and Das Gupta 1937; Patnaik and Ray 1966

  2. Eimeria columbarum Nieschulz, 1935
    1. Synonym: Eimeria tropicalis Malhotra and Ray, 1961
    2. Host: Columba livia (Rock dove or domestic pigeon)
    3. References: Bondois 1936; Cotteleer and Fameree 1978; Coussement et al. 1988; Frank 1978; Haas and Kosters 1987; Kulisic 1988, 1989a, 1989b; Malhotra and Ray 1961; Nieschulz 1935; Pande et al. 1970; Schumacher 1983; van Reeth and Vercruysse 1993; Vanparijs et al.1988; Vercruysse 1990

  3. Eimeria curvata Adriano, Thyssen, and Cordeiro, 2000
    1. Hosts: Columbina talpacoti (Ruddy ground dove); Scardafella squammata (Scaly dove)
    2. Reference: Adriano et al. 2000

  4. Eimeria duculai Varghese, 1980
    1. Host: Ducula spilorrhoa (Nutmeg or Torres Strait pigeon)
    2. Reference: Varghese 1980

  5. Eimeria gourai Varghese, 1980
    1. Host: Goura victoria (Victoria crowned pigeon)
    2. Reference: Varghese 1980

  6. Eimeria kapotei Chatterjee and Ray, 1969
    1. Host: Columba livia (Rock dove or domestic pigeon)
    2. References: Chatterjee and Ray 1969; Schumacher 1983
    3. The authors may be mistaken about the presence of a micropyle. If so, this would most likely represent E. labbeana.

  7. Eimeria labbeana (Labbe, 1896) Pinto, 1928
    1. Synonym: Coccidium pfeifferi Labbe, 1896
    2. Synonym: Eimeria choudari Bhatia, Chauhan, Arora, and Agrawal, 1972
    3. Synonym: Eimeria pfeifferi (Labbe, 1896) Wasielewski, 1904, nomen preocc.
    4. non Eimeria pfeifferi Labbe, 1896 from Geophilus ferruginosus
    5. Hosts: Columba livia (Rock dove or domestic pigeon); Streptopelia decaocto (Collared dove); S. orientalis (Rufous turtle dove); S. senegalensis (Laughing dove)
    6. References: Abdel-Ghaffar et al. 1985, 1986a, 1986b, 1990a, 1990b; Bashtar et al. 1991a, 1991b; Bhatia et al. 1972; Bondois 1936; Chakravarty and Kar 1944; Cotteleer & Fameree1978; Coussement et al. 1988; Duncan 1957a, 1957b, 1958, 1959a, 1959b; Fantham 1910; Feng and Liu 1987; Haas & Kosters 1987; Hunt and O'Grady 1976; Labbe 1896; Lavier and Bondois 1937; Martinez-Moreno et al. 1989; Marzouk et al.1989; Morini 1950; Nieschulz 1921, 1925, 1935; Pereira and de Sousa 1942; Pinto 1928, 1930; Quevedo and Arcay-de-Peraza 1980; van Reeth and Vercruysse 1993; Ruppert 1925; Schneider et al. 1972; Schumacher 1983; Sousa 1942; Srivastava 1966, 1967a, 1967b; Vanparijs et al. 1988; Varghese 1975a, 1975b, 1976a, 1976b, 1977; Vercruysse 1990; Verwey 1927; Wasielewski 1904; Yakimoff 1931; Yakimoff and Iwanoff-Gobzem 1931; Yakimoff and Timofeev 1939a, 1939b, 1940

  8. Eimeria palumbi McQuistion, 1991
    1. Host: Zenaida galapagoensis (Galapagos dove)
    2. Reference: McQuistion 1991

  9. Eimeria sp. of Conti and Forrester, 1981
    1. Host: Zenaida asiatica (White-winged dove); Zenaida macroura (Mourning dove)
    2. Reference: Conti and Forrester 1981

  10. Eimeria sphenocercae Ray, 1952
    1. Host: Treron sphenura (Kokla or Wedge-tailed green pigeon)
    2. Reference: Ray 1952

  11. Eimeria turturi Golemansky, 1976
    1. Host: Streptopelia turtur (Turtle dove)
    2. Reference: Golemansky 1976

  12. Eimeria waiganiensis Varghese, 1978
    1. Host: Chalcophaps indica (Emerald or Green-winged ground dove)
    2. Reference: Varghese 1978a

  13. Isospora gallicolumbae Varghese 1978
    1. Host: Gallicolumba beccarii (Beccari's or Gray-breasted ground dove)
    2. Reference: Varghese 1978b

  14. Wenyonella columbae Haldar and Ray-Choudhury, 1974
    1. Host: Columba livia (Rock dove or domestic pigeon)
    2. Reference: Haldar and Ray-Choudhury 1974
    3. Oocysts 23.8 x 23.0 (21-27 x 21-26); sporocysts 11.6 x 7.5 (10.5-12.8 x 6.4-8.6)
    4. This is likely a misidentification of an eimerian


Select references

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