Yellow-billed Oxpecker
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| Buphagus africanus Linnaeus, 1766 |
The Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Buphagus africanus, is a passerine bird in the starling and myna family Sturndidae. It is native to the savannah of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Sudan. It is least common in the extreme east of its range where it overlaps with Red-billed Oxpecker, despite always dominating that species when feeding.
The Yellow-billed Oxpecker nests in tree holes lined with hair plucked from livestock. It lays 2-3 eggs. Outside the breeding season it is are fairly gregarious, forming large, chattery flocks. Non-breeding birds will roost on their host animals at night.
The preferred habitat is open country, and the Yellow-billed Oxpecker eats insects. Both the English and scientific names arise from this species' habit of perching on large wild and domesticated mammals such as cattle and eating ticks. An adult will take more than 100 engorged female Boophilus decoloratus ticks, or 13,000 larvae in a day.
However, their preferred food is blood, and while they may take on ticks bloated with blood, they also feed on it directly, pecking at the mammal's wounds to keep them open to more parasites. So, what the bird does good to the mammal, is negated by it keeping the wounds open to parasites and disease[citation needed].
The Yellow-billed Oxpecker is 20 cm long and has plain brown upperparts and head, buff underparts and a pale rump. The feet are strong. The bill is yellow, tipped red. Its flight is strong and direct. The call is a hissy crackling krisss, krisss.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Buphagus africanus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
- Starlings and Mynas by Freare and Craig, ISBN 0-7136-3961-X
