The Amblycera are a large clade of chewing lice, [1][2] parasitic on both birds and mammals.

These insects are very much like the familiar advanced sucking lice, except they do not stay on their host permanently.

They roam freely over the surface of their host and, unlike other lice, do not form permanent attachments.

The maxillary palps may, however, be present and these may be visible in mounted specimens but may be confused with the antennae.

The head is often broader and rounder anteriorly than of Anoplura but this morphologic difference is not reliable.