Nematode parasites of birds of the fauna in Tunisia

330 birds of Tunisia were necropsied; they belong to 73 species among 29 families and 13 orders. We so collect 36 species of nematodes from 9 families. The relative importance of these is variable. The best represented are: Capillariidae (6 species), Spiruridae (6 species), Acuariidae (9 species) and Filariidae (6 species). The parasitism by nematodes is not uniform. Among the 330 birds autopsied only 51 were parasited by nematodes (15.45%) among 25 of the examined birds species (34.2%). Among these 25, sixteen (64%) presented only one species of parasitic nematode, six (24%) arboured two, (8%) three and only one, (partridges) presents six species of nematodes.