Birds are important hosts for the development of the immature stages of several tick species that are vectors for disease-causing microorganisms in animals and humans. Colombia has the highest number of bird species worldwide; however, there is scarce data on the role of birds in the circulation of ticks and their associated pathogens, such as rickettsiae. The department of Arauca has a high diversity of resident and migratory (boreal and austral) birds and ticks associated with the transmission of Rickettsia. The objective of this research was to identify tick species parasitizing birds and to detect Rickettsia species in these ectoparasites. We conducted samplings in the municipalities of Arauca, Cravo Norte, and Tame between November of 2018 and August of 2019. Birds were captured using mist nets and examined for the presence of tick species. The collected ticks were morphologically and molecularly identified. Furthermore, we detected rickettsiae in ticks by amplifying fragments of the citrate synthase (gltA) and outer membrane protein (ompB) genes. We captured 606 birds belonging to 25 families and 115 species. Tick infestation rate was 3.3% (20/606) in the birds captured and eight new associations between wild birds and ticks are reported for the American continent. We identified four tick species: Amblyomma nodosum, Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma mixtum, and Amblyomma sp.. Moreover, we confirmed the presence of Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest in A. nodosum, a medically-relevant rickettsia due to cases of rickettsiosis in the American continent. This finding manifests the importance of wild birds as hosts and dispersal agents of ticks infected with pathogenic rickettsiae, as well as the need to monitor migratory birds in the Orinoquia and other regions of Colombia and America.

鸟类是几种蜱类未成熟阶段发育的重要宿主，这些蜱类是动物和人类致病微生物的载体。哥伦比亚是世界上鸟类种类最多的国家；然而，关于鸟类在蜱及其相关病原体（例如立克次体）传播中的作用的数据很少。阿劳卡省拥有高度多样性的留鸟和候鸟（北方和南方）鸟类以及与立克次体传播相关的蜱虫。这项研究的目的是鉴定寄生鸟类的蜱虫种类并检测这些体外寄生虫中的立克次体种类。 2018 年 11 月至 2019 年 8 月，我们在阿劳卡、北克拉沃和坦姆市进行了采样。使用雾网捕获鸟类并检查是否存在蜱类。对收集的蜱进行形态学和分子鉴定。此外，我们通过扩增柠檬酸合酶 ( gltA ) 和外膜蛋白 ( ompB)基因的片段来检测蜱中的立克次体。我们捕获了属于25科115种的606只鸟类。捕获的鸟类中蜱虫感染率为 3.3% (20/606)，美洲大陆报告了野生鸟类与蜱虫之间的 8 个新关联。我们鉴定了四种蜱种： Amblyomma nodosum、Amblyomma longirostre 、 Amblyomma mixtum和Amblyomma sp.。此外，我们确认A. nodosum中存在大西洋雨林立克次体菌株，这是一种与美国立克次体病病例有关的医学相关立克次体大陆。 这一发现表明野生鸟类作为感染致病性立克次体的蜱虫的宿主和传播媒介的重要性，以及监测奥里诺基亚省以及哥伦比亚和美国其他地区候鸟的必要性。