Haemoproteus insects including mosquitoes, biting midges ("Culicoides"), louse flies ("Hippoboscidae") and tabanid flies ("Tabanidae"). Infection with this genus is sometimes known as pseudomalaria because of the parasites' similarities with "Plasmodium" species. Within the genus there are at least 173 species, 5 varieties and 1 subspecies. Of these over 140 occur in birds, 16 in reptiles and 3 in amphibia: 14 orders and 50 families of birds are represented. These include gamebirds ("Galliformes"), waterfowl ("Anseriformes"), raptors ("Accipitriformes", "Falconiformes", "Strigiformes"), pigeons and doves ("Columbiformes"), and perching birds or songbirds ("Passeriformes"). The first description of this genus was in 1890 by Kruse who described
Birds International is conducive to the breeding and propagation of exotic birds. Birds International provides captive-bred birds to pet lovers, hobbyist, zoos and parks. The company is evaluated to be "the biggest and most successful breeder of exotic birds in the world". It has 20,000 exotic birds at any given time. Most of them are exported to Asia, Europe and Japan. Prices can be high, making Birds International a successful business venture and thus a model for similar enterprises. It has also been pointed out as a model for aviculture industry in Australia where, as in the Philippines, commercial trade in native