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Red-billed and Yellow-billed Oxpecker
Sturnidae: Buphagus erythrorhynchus (Red-billed)
Sturnidae: Buphagus africanus (Yellow-billed)
Oxpeckers are birds which pick insects, mainly ticks, from the backs of large mammals - buffalo, rhinos, and various antelopes. The common one is the Red-billed Oxpecker, while the Yellow-billed is much less common.The Oxpeckers have been considered a sub-family of the starlings, but some ornithologists wish to raise them to family level. They are about 20cm long.
The food that the birds seek is actually the blood of the animal. The ticks are engorged with blood, but the Oxpeckers also drink the animals' blood directly, pecking at wounds to keep them open and keep the blood flowing.
