''Ceratophyllus niger'', also known as the western chicken flea or the black hen flea, is an

ectoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

of birds. It is a member of the family

Ceratophyllidae Ceratophyllidae is a family (biology), family of fleas. Its members are Parasitism, parasites of mainly rodents and birds. It contains two subfamilies, one containing over 40 genera, and the other just three. Subfamily Ceratophyllinae *''Aenigm ...

and was described by Fox in 1908.

References

Ceratophyllidae Insects described in 1908 Ectoparasites Parasites of birds {{Flea-stub