Migratory birds play an important role in large-scale movements of ticks and tick-borne pathogens, yet little is known about tick infestation of resident birds (e.g., non-migratory species and migratory species during the breeding season), especially in urban ecosystems. We captured birds during the breeding season in parks and greenspaces in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, to evaluate overall tick infestation patterns and to determine if urbanization influences infestation prevalence (the proportion of birds parasitized) and intensity (the number of ticks on infested birds). Of 459 birds, 111 (24.2%) had ≥ 1 tick, a high proportion of infestation compared with past North American studies. The most frequently infested species were Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus; 56%), Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum; 37%), and Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis; 27%). The Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) comprised half (51%; n = 322) of all ticks on birds; other species sampled included Gulf Coast Tick (A. maculatum) (36%) and Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis leporispalustris) (13%). Urbanization intensity (i.e., the percentage of developed land around sites) was inversely related to infestation prevalence for all birds combined and for Carolina Wren, but intensity of infestation was unrelated to urbanization. Our results suggest that non-migratory and migratory birds during sedentary periods are important carriers of ticks in urban areas, and that tick infestation patterns can be influenced by the level of urbanization in the surrounding landscape. Clarifying how urban birds influence tick populations, and how urbanization shapes bird-tick interactions, will increase understanding of tick-borne disease ecology in urban ecosystems.

候鸟在蜱和蜱传病原体的大规模移动中发挥着重要作用，但对留鸟（例如，非迁徙物种和繁殖季节的迁徙物种）的蜱侵染知之甚少，尤其是在城市生态系统中。我们在美国俄克拉荷马州俄克拉荷马市的公园和绿地捕捉鸟类繁殖季节，以评估整体蜱虫侵染模式，并确定城市化是否影响侵染流行率（被寄生的鸟类比例）和强度（受侵染鸟类的蜱虫数量） ）。在 459 只鸟中，111 只 (24.2%) 有 ≥ 1 只蜱，与过去的北美研究相比，感染比例很高。最常受侵染的物种是卡罗莱纳鹪鹩 ( Thyothorus ludovicianus ; 56%), Brown Thrasher (红线虫; 37%) 和北红衣主教 ( Cardinalis cardinalis ; 27%)。孤星蜱（Amblyomma americanum）占鸟类所有蜱的一半（51%；n = 322）；其他采样物种包括墨西哥湾沿岸蜱 ( A. maculatum ) (36%) 和兔蜱 ( Haemaphysalis leporispalustris) (13%)。城市化强度（即场地周围已开发土地的百分比）与所有鸟类和卡罗莱纳鹪鹩的感染流行率呈负相关，但感染强度与城市化无关。我们的研究结果表明，久坐期间的非候鸟和候鸟是城市地区蜱虫的重要载体，蜱虫侵扰模式会受到周围景观城市化水平的影响。阐明城市鸟类如何影响蜱种群，以及城市化如何塑造鸟类与蜱的相互作用，将增加对城市生态系统中蜱传播疾病生态学的理解。