Strange fly

[Anonybrit]

Hello,

I found a baby dove that had afllen out of the dovecot the day before yesterday, so I picked it up to put it back in.

A strange fly immediately started buzzing around my face and I tried to bat a it away.

A few minutes later, I felt something crawling in my sleeve and when I investigated there was a fly of a type I had not encountered before.

It is dark brown in colour with short flat body and widespread legs. It did not seem to want to fly much, preferring to scuttle around on my body. It was hard to shake off, and coukd scuttle sideways or forwards and backwards with equal ease.

Can anyone tell me whast sort of fly it might be, please?

(And was it related to the bird, or was that co-incidence?)

Thank you.

[eucera]

Sounds like a Hippoboscid fly of some sort. Few species are associated with the pigeon/dove family of which Ornithomya avicularia is by far the commonest. This species is common throughout most of England, Wales and Ireland, rarer in the north and southern Scotland. This is 5.5-7mm in wing length. They are obligate ectoparasites of their host species.

[Anonybrit]

Yep, that looks like the thing - I found a few pics on google. Thanks.

Seems to go under the common names of "fllat fly" and "louse fly" as well. The latter is particularly apt.

Lived in the countryside all my life and never knowingly seen one before. You learn something new everyday.

Will they bite people, do you know?

[thunder]

I think they may occasionally have a nibble - but they are very host specific, so don't care for the taste of anything new (but like Brits on the Costa Brava!)

henrya