Red-billed Oxpecker Profile: The Bird That Rides Buffalo and Giraffe

Oxpeckers are among the most recognisable small birds of the African savanna, because they appear in so many photographs of buffalo, giraffe, rhinos and zebra. They are social, noisy and agile, and they use stiff tail feathers and sharp claws to cling to moving animals.

This profile covers identification, the relationship between oxpeckers and their hosts, and the parks where East African visitors are most likely to see them.

This guide is part of our animals of Uganda and East Africa guide. When you are ready to plan, see our Uganda safari packages or the Ameera Africa Safaris Uganda tours homepage.

Identification

The red-billed oxpecker is about the size of a starling, with plain brown-grey upperparts, paler underparts, a long tail and a bright red bill. A yellow ring around the eye is a good field mark, although it can be hard to see at a distance. Juveniles have a duller brown bill. A second species, the yellow-billed oxpecker, has a yellow bill with a red tip and a paler rump, and the two sometimes occur in the same area. Both have flattened bills, strong feet and short legs adapted for clinging to hide and hair, so they often appear to hang from the side of an animal.

Habitat and Hosts

Oxpeckers live in savanna and open woodland wherever there are large mammals and trees nearby for roosting and nesting. Common hosts include buffalo, giraffe, black and white rhinos, zebra, eland, impala, waterbuck and warthog. They tend to avoid elephants, whose thick, mud-coated skin offers little, and they use hippos at times, perching on the back when the animals are out of water. They also readily use domestic cattle. A group of birds can spend hours on one animal, working systematically from the back to the legs and belly.

Diet and Feeding

Oxpeckers eat ticks, which provide much of their diet, and also take flies, lice and other external parasites. They scissor their bills through hair, and they also eat blood and tissue from small wounds, sometimes keeping sores open. Because of this, scientists have debated whether oxpeckers are true cleaners or partly parasites. The balance is probably different from one host and one season to another. Hosts tolerate them, and some tick-heavy animals benefit from the loss of parasites, but animals with open wounds may be harmed.

Alarm Calls and Behaviour

Oxpeckers are wary and noisy. When danger approaches, such as a predator or a human on foot, they give a harsh hissing alarm call and flutter up, which can alert the host. Rhinos, with poor eyesight, are said to benefit from this early warning, which is why oxpeckers have long been called the rhino's guardians. Roosting is often on the host or in nearby trees, and flocks are common outside the breeding season. Birds also take hair from hosts to line their nests, which makes them sometimes seem to be plucking the animal.

Breeding and Lifespan

Red-billed oxpeckers nest in holes in trees, lining the cavity with hair plucked from hosts and sometimes dung. The female lays a small clutch, and both parents, and sometimes helpers, feed the chicks. Breeding is typically timed to the rains, when insects and ticks are abundant. Pairs and groups return to the same cavity over several years. Young birds follow parents to hosts quickly and learn to forage on their own after a few weeks, joining flocks once independent.

Threats and Conservation

Oxpecker numbers fell in many regions during the twentieth century, largely because livestock were dipped in tick-killing chemicals that poisoned the birds, and because large herbivores were lost from many places. Where host animals are protected and cattle treatments are less harmful, the birds have recovered or been reintroduced in some countries. The species is widespread and not currently regarded as globally threatened. Protecting large-mammal populations and avoiding indiscriminate chemicals are the main ways to support them.

Where to See Red-billed Oxpeckers

Look on buffalo and giraffe in the Masai Mara, the Serengeti, Tarangire, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. In Uganda, Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo offer good chances, especially on buffalo and giraffe, and in Rwanda Akagera is the place to try. Any standard game drive with large herbivores will give an opportunity.

Viewing and Photography Tips

Ask your driver to stop at a safe distance from a buffalo herd or a giraffe and watch the birds for a few minutes, since they move constantly. A telephoto lens is useful to isolate a bird on a host's back or ear. Avoid approaching close enough to make the host move off. Oxpeckers on a rhino or buffalo face often make the most striking images. See buffalo, giraffe, rhino and zebra for the animals they ride.

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