Bird lice may feed on feathers, skin, or blood.
They have no wings, and their biting mouth parts distinguish them from true lice, which suck blood.
Chickens and other poultry are attacked by many kinds of bird lice.
In extreme cases, the infestation may even interfere with egg production and the fattening of poultry.
[3] Earlier all chewing lice were considered to form the paraphyletic order Mallophaga while the sucking lice were thought to form the order Anoplura.