Bug FAQSlender pigeon louse
Columbicola columbae · Order: Psocodea · Family: Philopteridae
Also called: Louse, Pigeon louse
The slender pigeon louse, scientific name Columbicola columbae, belongs to the genus Columbicola. It lives as an ectoparasite on birds, feeding only on the outer layer of their skin. Its diet is highly specific, limited to four different bird species.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Columbicola columbae is a species of louse known as the slender pigeon louse.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
This louse lives on the surface of bird skin as an ectoparasite.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It feeds almost exclusively on four bird species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 15 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Missouri, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, New York, California.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbicola_columbae
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.