Predators and Parasites
Some falcons have the speed and agility to catch swallows and martins in flight, and Pale Crag Martins may be hunted by species such as the Peregrine Falcon, Taita Falcon, African Hobby and wintering Eurasian Hobby. Pale Crag Martins often share their nesting sites with Little Swifts, which sometimes forcibly take over martins' nests.
The argasid tick Hyalomma marginatum was found in Pale Crag Martin nests on a sarcophagus and an ancient tomb in Egypt. This tick has been implicated in the transmission of Bahig virus, a pathogenic arbovirus previously thought to be transmitted only by mosquitoes. Another argasid tick, Argas africolumbae, was found in a nest of the closely related Rock Martins in Kenya. The nasal mite Ptilonyssus echinatus was found in a Pale Crag Martin in the Tibesti Mountains of northern Chad.
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Famous quotes containing the word parasites:
“Shy and proud men ... are more liable than any others to fall into the hands of parasites and creatures of low character. For in the intimacies which are formed by shy men, they do not choose, but are chosen.”
—Sir Henry Taylor (1800–1886)