Yellow-billed oxpecker, Buphagus africanus, photographed at Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa.
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [velociraptorize].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender, ISO 400, f/8, 1/125 sec.
Question: This lovely African mystery bird is placed into the same family as another, very common and invasive European species. Can you name this bird and its more familiar (to us) cousin?
Response: This is an adult yellow-billed oxpecker, Buphagus africanus, which many ornithologists (but not all) place into the starling and myna family, Sturnidae. This species eats eats insects and ticks off large African ungulates (both wild and domestic); often perching and sleeping on their hosts at night. They also drink their hosts' blood, and will keep their wounds open, making their hosts susceptible to a variety of parasites and diseases.
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