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Afro-Palearctic migrant species are exposed to parasites at both breeding and over-wintering grounds. The house martin Delichon urbicum is one such migratory species facing high instances of blood parasite infection. In an attempt to determine whether breeding European house martins harbour similar blood parasite communities to populations breeding in North Africa, birds were sampled at their breeding grounds in Switzerland and Algeria. Moreover, haemosporidian prevalence and parasite communities were compared to published data sets on Spanish and Dutch breeding populations. This study furthermore wanted to establish whether co-infection with multiple genera or lineages of parasites had negative e ff ects on host body condition. Breeding house martins caught in Algeria showed a higher prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites than did European populations. Swiss house martins showed a …