Gastrointestinal helminthes of houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) from north of Iran

The houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata), male 1.5–2.5 kg and female 1.0–1.6 kg, a member of the Otididae, inhabits in dry lands. Three subspecies of houbara bustard are identified: Chlamydotis undulata undulata lives from North Mauritania to Egypt; Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii found from Sinai, Arabia, and the Caspian Sea, to Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae lives in the Canary Isles[1,2]. The natural home is mainly Mediterranean, steppe and semi-desert areas on bosky flatlands. The Canarian and North African subspecies are sedentary and do not migrate, while the Asiatic subspecies in the autumn flight from Central Asia and spend winter in Arabia, Iran, India, Iraq and Pakistan[3]. In Iran, houbaras are distributed from the central deserts to the Persian Gulf, live in large areas of remote deserts[3]. The MacQueen’s bustard was classified as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature[4]. The houbara is also prohibited from international trade[5]. According to our knowledge and reviewing the literature, reports for parasitic helminthes of houbaras in Iran are still unknown and need to be elucidated. Therefore, the current study was conducted to clarify parasitic helminths of houbara bustard in Iran.