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' Head Haggadah illuminated manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries depict humans with animal heads in keeping with this prohibition. Notably, the Leipzig Machzor, copied by the same scribe who copied the Birds' Head Haggadah, features human-looking faces with noses resembling curved beaks. Epstein theorizes that the choice of birds' heads for the Jewish figures in the Birds' Head Haggadah hints at the spiritual and national characteristics of the Jewish people. He argues that the beaked visages in the manuscript are not birds' heads at all, but the heads of griffins. The legendary griffin – the body of which resembles both a