Data from: Diversity of haemosporidian parasites in Mississippi songbirds

Haemosporidian parasites are extremely diverse in birds, and the more bird hosts are tested, the greater the diversity of haemosporidians is found. Here, we conducted a survey of haemosporidians in the local populations (Oktibbeha County, MS) of common and abundant songbirds. Mist nets were used to capture local songbirds and blood was taken from the brachial vein for screening and identification of haemosporidians. The parasite prevalence was 57%, and this included three genera of haemosporidians. Three Haemoproteus lineages were found, with one novel lineage (3% different than any known lineage); two Leucocytozoon lineages were found, neither of which were novel; and eight Plasmodium lineages were found, one of which was novel (5% different than any known lineage), and one of which that may be novel (3% different than any known lineage). Leucocytozoon was detected for the first time in Mississippi songbirds, indicating the importance of surveying for understanding putative haemosporidian range shifts.