Blood smear counts 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. We examined Giemsa stained blood smears at × 1000 magnification (light microscope PrimoStar Zeiss, Germany) for at least 10,000 monolayered erythrocytes to calculate infection intensity based on the presence and number of intraerythrocytic gametocytes. The data contains red blood cell counts of 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.