Blood smear images of Haemosporidian parasites in Eurasian Jays from Hesse, Germany 2020/21

Blood samples of Eurasian Jays Garrulus glandarius (Corvidae, n = 16) were collected by venepuncture in Caldern, Hesse, Central Germany in the years 2020 and 2021 to check for the presence of haemosporidian parasites. Giemsa stained blood smears have been checked for the presence of infected erythrocytes by light microscopy (× 1000 magnification, light microscope PrimoStar86 Zeiss, Germany) and pictures were taken of some of the infected erythrocytes. The data contains images of Giemsa stained Jay blood smears tested positive for haemosporidian parasites (Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon). All individuals were infected with at least one haemosporidian genus. The most common infection pattern was a mixed infection with Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon, whereas no Plasmodium infection was detected in any of the samples of the Jays.