Red-billed Oxpecker

Africa · symbiosis · savannah · teamwork

Tick-picking partner. Red-billed oxpeckers land on zebras, buffalo, giraffes, and other big animals to pluck off ticks and parasites. The bird gets a meal, and the animal gets relief from annoying bugs that itch and bother it.

Eastern African home. These birds live across the eastern savannah of sub-Saharan Africa, from the Central African Republic all the way to South Sudan and down to northern and eastern South Africa. They love the hot, grassland regions where herds of large animals roam.

Passerine family member. Red-billed oxpeckers belong to the passerine order, also called perching birds, which makes them cousins to sparrows, finches, and many other small songbirds. They're specially adapted for clinging to big animals instead of trees.

Winning over yellow-billed. Where red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers live in the same area of Southern Africa, the red-billed kind is more common and widespread. The two species compete for the same ticks and parasites on animals.