Red-billed Oxpecker

The Red-billed Oxpecker is a highly specialized passerine that spends most of its life clinging to the bodies of large African mammals such as buffalo, giraffe, rhinoceros, and antelope. It has a stocky, short-legged build with strong claws adapted for gripping fur and hide, and a stiffened tail used as a prop, much like a woodpecker's.

Plumage is plain olive-brown above and buffy below, but the bird's most distinctive features are its bright red bill and a narrow yellow ring around the eye.

Key field marks

• All-red, slender bill (the key distinguishing feature)
• Yellow eye-ring surrounding a red iris
• Plain grey-brown to olive-brown upperparts, paler buffy underparts
• Stiff tail used for bracing while climbing on a host animal's body

Similar species

The Yellow-billed Oxpecker is very similar in shape and habits but has a bill that is yellow at the base with a red tip, lacks the bold yellow eye-ring, and has a paler, less contrasting rump. Range overlap occurs in parts of eastern and southern Africa, so bill color and eye-ring are the most reliable distinguishing features.

Habitat and range

Red-billed Oxpeckers occur across eastern and southern Africa, from South Sudan and Somalia south to South Africa, wherever large mammal hosts such as buffalo, giraffe, and antelope are common, typically in savanna, woodland, and grassland.

Migration

The species is essentially resident and non-migratory, with movements tied closely to the presence and distribution of host animals rather than seasonal migration routes.

Behavior

Oxpeckers are almost never seen away from a large mammal host, clambering over the animal's body, head, and even into ears and nostrils in search of food. They typically occur in small groups, sometimes several birds on one host animal.

Voice

Calls include a hissing, sizzling call and sharp scolding notes given while foraging or in alarm.

Feeding

They feed primarily on ticks and other external parasites picked from the skin of large mammals, and will also feed on blood from open wounds, occasionally keeping wounds from healing.

Nesting and breeding

Red-billed Oxpeckers nest in tree cavities, lining the nest with hair plucked from their host animals. Clutches usually contain 2–3 eggs, and both parents help raise the young.