Survey for hemoparasites in imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca), steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis), and white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) from Kazakhstan

Prevalence of hemoparasites has been investigated in many avian species throughout Europe and North America. Basic hematologic surveys are the first step toward evaluating whether host-parasite prevalences observed in North America and Europe occur elsewhere in the world. We collected blood smears from 94 nestling imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca), five nestling steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis), and 14 nestling white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) at Naurzum Zapovednik (Naurzum National Nature Reserve) in Kazakhstan during the summers of 1999 and 2000. In 1999, six of 29 imperial eagles were infected with Lencocytozoon toddi. Five of 65 imperial eagles and one of 14 white-tailed sea eagle were infected with L. toddi in 2000. Furthermore, in 2000, one of 65 imperial eagles was infected with Haemoproteus sp. We found no parasites in steppe eagles in either year, and no bird had multiple-species infections. These data are important because few hematologic studies of these eagle species have been conducted.