Red-billed Oxpecker, Buphagus erythrorhynchus, Buphagidae. Three Birds on a South African Giraffe.


Red-billed Oxpecker, Buphagus erythrorhynchus, Buphagidae. Three Birds on a South African Giraffe. The oxpeckers are two species of bird which make up the family Buphagidae. Some ornithologists regard them as a subfamily Buphaginae within the starling family Sturnidae but they appear to be quite distinct. 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 or rhinoceroses, and eating ticks, botfly larvae, and other parasites.


Size: 3468px × 5044px
Location: Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Photo credit: © Naturepix / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -saharan, 3, africa, african, ave, aves, billed, bird, birds, botfly, buphagidae, buphaginae, buphagus, eating, endemic, erythrorhynchus, feeding, giraffe, larvae, mammals, natural, nature, naturepix, ornithology, ox, oxpecker, parasites, pecker, perching, red, red-billed, savanna, south, ticks, wild, wildlife