Birds · Passeriformes · Buphagidae
Red-billed Oxpecker
Buphagus erythrorynchus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The red-billed oxpecker lives literally on top of the large African mammals: giraffes, buffalo, antelopes, rhinos and domestic livestock. It grips the coat with short legs and strongly curved claws and works its way over the animal's body in search of ticks, flies and flakes of skin. The relationship was long considered an example of pure mutualism, but recent studies have qualified that reading considerably.
Weight
42 g – 59 g
Size
19 cm – 21 cm
Lifespan
15 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Family group
Lives in small family groups with close bonds.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- GeneralIt lives on buffalo, giraffes and rhinos eating ticks, and warns them of danger.
- It is not as clean a mutualism as was believed: as well as taking ticks, it opens and keeps open its hosts' wounds in order to drink blood, and several studies suggest that it behaves more as an occasional parasite than as a disinterested cleaner.
- It sleeps on the animal too: it spends the night clinging to the neck or belly of a giraffe or a buffalo, without coming down to the ground.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Savannah and grassland of eastern and southern Africa with large wild grazers or livestock
- Birth weight
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Size at birth
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Sexual maturity
- 12 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 13 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 3 eggs
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa, by day; look for it directly on buffalo, giraffe, antelope and cattle.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 34 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Red-billed Oxpecker — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagris
Village Weaver
Ploceus cucullatus
Southern Boubou
Laniarius ferrugineus
Grey Go-away-bird
Corythaixoides concolor
Snoring Puddle Frog
Phrynobatrachus natalensis
Common Bulbul
Pycnonotus barbatus
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about red-billed oxpecker.
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