Description
The oxpeckers are two species of bird which make up the genus Buphagus, and family Buphagidae.
Oxpeckers are endemic to the savanna of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Both the English and scientific names arise from their habit of perching on large mammals (both wild and domesticated) such as cattle, zebras, impalas, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, and giraffes, eating ticks, small insects, botfly larvae, and other parasites, as well as the animals’ blood.
The behaviour of oxpeckers towards large mammals was thought to be exclusively mutual, though recent research suggests the relationship can be parasitic in nature as well.
The swahili name for the red-billed oxpecker is Askari wa kifaru (the rhino’s guard).
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