Feather lice from Sooty Shearwaters Puffinus griseus in the Faroe Islands

Seven species of lice (Insecta; Phthiraptera) were found on 41 dead Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) collected from two localities around the Faroe Islands in 1997. Four species (Ancistrona vagelli, Austromenopon paululum, Halipeurus diversus and Trabeculus hexakon) are regarded as regular ectoparasites on Sooty Shearwaters. The other three species (Halipeurus gravis gravis, Naubates harrisoni and Saemundssonia peusi) are treated as natural stragglers from other petrels. Possible explanations for the transferral of the three straggling louse species from their regular hosts to Sooty Shearwaters are discussed.