"Papolocioara" redirects here. This term is also applied to other birds, e.g. the yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima) of Latin America.
"Buphagus" redirects here. For the Greek mythological character, see Buphagus (mythology).
Oxpeckers
Yellow-billed oxpeckers Buphagus africanus africanus on a zebra in Senegal
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Passeriformes
Superfamily:
Muscicapoidea
Family:
Buphagidae Lesson, 1828
Genus:
Buphagus Brisson, 1760
Type species
Buphaga africana[1]
Linnaeus, 1766
Species
Buphagus africanus Buphagus erythrorhynchus
Buphagus erythrorhynchus on an impala
The oxpeckers are two species of bird which make up the genus Buphagus, and family Buphagidae. The oxpeckers were formerly usually treated as a subfamily, Buphaginae, within the starling family, Sturnidae, but molecular phylogenetic studies have consistently shown that they form a separate lineage that is basal to the sister clades containing the Sturnidae and the Mimidae (mockingbirds, thrashers, and allies). Oxpeckers are endemic to the savanna of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Both the English and scientific names arise from their habit of perching on large mammals (both wild and domesticated) such as cattle, zebras, impalas, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, and giraffes, eating ticks, small insects, botfly larvae, and other parasites, as well as the animals' blood. The behaviour of oxpeckers towards large mammals was thought to be exclusively mutual, though recent research suggests the relationship can be parasitic in nature as well.[2]
The swahili name for the red-billed oxpecker is Askari wa kifaru (the rhino's guard).[3]
^"Buphagidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
^Eschner, Kat (22 September 2017). "Those Little Birds On The Backs Of Rhinos Actually Drink Blood". Smithsonian. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
^Shoot, Britta (10 June 2020). "These Birds Protect Black Rhinos From Poachers (but Also Drink Their Blood)". Audubon.
The oxpeckers are two species of bird which make up the genus Buphagus, and family Buphagidae. The oxpeckers were formerly usually treated as a subfamily...
slang some birds, especially the woodpecker but sometimes flowerpecker, oxpecker or (rarely) berrypecker 1629 Pecker, an asteroid discovered in 1952 by...
represent an extinct starling (see Rodrigues starling for details). The oxpeckers are sometimes placed here as a subfamily, but the weight of evidence has...
defence against ticks and symbiotic relationship with the tick-feeding oxpeckers could have played a role in preventing major changes in morphology and...
and Rhipicephalus. Giraffes may rely on red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers to clean them of ticks and alert them to danger. Giraffes host numerous...
like the orange chromide or some cleaner shrimps; and some, like the oxpeckers, combine a little eating of parasites (beneficial to client) with taking...
sites include large herbivores on the African savanna that are used by oxpeckers. Many sleeping birds bend their heads over their backs and tuck their...
birds, including the vampire finch, Hood mockingbird, Tristan thrush, and oxpeckers, also practise hematophagy. Hematophagous animals have mouth parts and...
pests. Red-billed oxpeckers and black rhinos have a symbiotic relationship. The oxpeckers feed on the bugs found on rhinos and the oxpeckers warn the rhinos...
living fossils. See for example the uniquely and highly autapomorphic oxpeckers, which appear to be the only survivors of an ancient lineage related to...
tick treatments; the acaricide is selected to be safe for the rhino, oxpeckers, vultures, and other animals in the preserve's ecosystem. Ticks of domestic...
World flycatchers and chats Turdidae: thrushes and allies Buphagidae: oxpeckers Sturnidae: starlings and rhabdornis Mimidae: mockingbirds and thrashers...
Law and in the video game based on the show. Black provided the voice of oxpecker Ted in the My Gym Partner's a Monkey episode, "Hornbill and Ted's Bogus...
eaten by oxpeckers and egrets. Such behaviour was originally thought to be an example of mutualism, but recent evidence suggests that oxpeckers may be parasites...
Dewain Episode: "Heat" Mob City Skeety Episode: "His Banana Majesty" & "Oxpecker" Zane's The Jump Off Dmitri Vance Main cast 2014 The Rebels Football Player...
Rhinos Roll!" Martin Kratt Eva Almos Serengeti Black rhinoceros, red-billed oxpecker, lion, veiled chameleon, giant African land snail, tick March 28, 2011 (2011-03-28)...
Mortimer and the Riddles of the Metallion Lodius, Humpback Whale, Lion, Oxpecker, Walrus Arcade America Additional Voices 1997 Star Warped 1998 Microshaft...
Mimidae: mockingbirds and thrashers Sturnidae: starlings Buphagidae: oxpeckers Turdidae: thrushes and allies Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers and...
relatives Family Muscicapidae: flycatchers and relatives Family Buphagidae: oxpeckers Family Mimidae: mockingbirds and thrashers Family Sturnidae: starlings...
nearsighted and would often rely on local birds, such as the red-billed oxpecker, to help them detect incoming threats. The black rhino, of which the western...
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