The Feather Louse Photo: Rod Morris
While it certainly isn't lovable or pretty, there are approx 180 species of Feather Louse in New Zealand.
They particularly love living on the Albatross, with six different species being found on individual birds.
Each louse takes up a different part of albatross real estate, with one species living primarily in the head and neck area, others on the body and the "monster" louse, Harrisoniella hopkinsi which can be up to a centimetre long, shares the wing area with other species.
Nicola Toki, DOC's Threatened Species Ambassador explains why we should care about these parasitic creatures.
