The Eurasian nuthatch is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Asia and in Europe. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-grey upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud dwip call. There are more than 20 subspecies. Birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the Far East have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat. The preferred habitat is mature deciduous or mixed woodland with large, old trees, preferably oak. Pairs nest in tree holes, usually old woodpecker nests. The Eurasian nuthatch eats mainly insects, particularly caterpillars and beetles, supplementing its diet with nuts and seeds in autumn and winter. It can forage when descending trees head first, as well as when climbing. It readily visits bird tables and is an inveterate hoarder, storing food year-round. Its main natural predator is the Eurasian sparrowhawk. It has a large population and huge breeding area, and is therefore classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of Least Concern. (Full article...)
A variety of parasites have been recorded from the marsh rice rat, a semiaquatic rodent found in the eastern and southern United States. Some of these parasites are endoparasites, internal parasites, while others are ectoparasites, external parasites. In a 1988 study, parasitologist John Kinsella found a total of 45 endoparasites in marsh rice rats, a number unequaled in rodents. This may be related to the diverse habitats the rice rat uses and to its omnivorous diet; it eats a variety of animals which may serve as intermediate hosts of various parasites. While the marsh rice rat harbors a number of host-specific species, such as the nematodeAonchotheca forresteri, other parasite species, such as the lone star tick(pictured), are shared with other mammals. Four tapeworms are known from the marsh rice rat. Borrelia, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, has been identified in some ticks that infect the marsh rice rat and it has been identified as a possible natural reservoir for Borrelia. (Full list...)
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