| Red-billed oxpecker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult at nest entrance | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Buphagidae |
| Genus: | Buphagus |
| Species: | B. erythrorynchus |
| Binomial name | |
| Buphagus erythrorynchus (Stanley, 1814) | |
 | |
| Range | |
| Synonyms | |
Buphagus erythrorhynchus | |
Thered-billed oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorynchus) is apasserinebird in the oxpecker family,Buphagidae. It is native to the eastern savannah of sub-SaharanAfrica, from theCentral African Republic east toSouth Sudan and south to northern and easternSouth Africa. It is more widespread than theyellow-billed oxpecker in Southern Africa, where their ranges overlap.
The scientific name comes fromAncient Greek βοῦς (boûs), meaning "ox", and φάγος (phágos), meaning "eater". Thespecific name comes from ἐρυθρός (eruthrós), meaning "red", and ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos), meaning "snout".
The red-billed oxpecker is a native of the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa. It ranges acrossEthiopia andSomalia throughKenya,Tanzania,Malawi, andZambia to southern Africa,Botswana,Zimbabwe, southernMozambique, and north-easternSouth Africa.[2]
A juvenile oxpecker is darker brown than its parents. Its bill is dark olive at first, but gradually takes on adult colouration after four months.[citation needed] Its flight is strong and direct, and their call is a hissy cracklingtrik-quisss.[3]
The red-billed oxpecker nests in tree holes lined with hair plucked fromlivestock. It lays two to fiveeggs, with three being the average. Outside the breeding season it forms large, chatteringflocks.
The preferred habitat is open country, and the red-billed oxpecker eatsinsects. Both the English and scientific names arise from this species' habit of perching on large wild and domesticatedmammals such ascattle and eatingticks.[4] This species's relationship withrhinos gives theSwahili nameAskari wa kifaru meaning "the rhino's guard".[5]
An adult will take nearly 100 blood-engorged femaleRhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus ticks, or more than 12,000larvae in a day. However, their preferred food is blood, and while they may take ticks bloated with blood, they also feed on it directly, pecking at the mammal's wounds to keep them open.
Field observations inrhinos have shown oxpeckers warning the nearsighted rhino of danger.[6]
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