||Mal*loph"a*ga (măl*l&obreve;f"&adot;*g&adot;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mallo`s a lock of wool + fagei^n to eat.] (Zoöl.) An extensive group of insects which are parasitic on birds and mammals, and feed on the feathers and hair; -- called also bird lice. See Bird louse, under Bird.