Snapshot Serengeti Talk

What type of bird is this hitching a ride on a water buffalo

  • pfpughhotmail.com by pfpughhotmail.com

    What type of bird is this hitching a ride on a water buffalo ?enter image description here

    Posted

  • areinders by areinders moderator

    It's an oxpecker, they eat ticks and other parasites on/in the skin of buffaloes and other large mammals.

    Posted

  • davidbygott by davidbygott moderator

    And there are no water-buffalo in Serengeti! They are specifically Asiatic. You can just call it a buffalo.

    Posted

  • samhe by samhe

    i have often seen these on the backs of all sorts of large mammals, and they seem perfectly happy to carry a bird around on their backs, i suppose they must be aware that they are dfoing the animal some good

    Posted

  • dosty2001 by dosty2001

    I agree but what happens when you run out of parasites?

    Posted

  • davidbygott by davidbygott moderator

    Oxpeckers' aim is not charitable - I don't think they are trying to benefit the buffalo, he is just a place to feed. There are usually enough ticks etc, but oxpeckers will sometimes also peck at raw wounds on a buffalo and eat some beef and blood.

    Posted

  • tillydad by tillydad moderator

    As davidbygott states the oxpeckers are not being charitable, they are often regarded as being of benefit to large mammals but this is not always the case. Indeed, some research has suggested that the oxpeckers have a tendency to vampirism, in which they actively cause a wound and take just the blood or will feed from open wounds to drink the blood. They do take ticks from host animals but these have already gorged on blood and so the oxpecker is again taking blood as a major part of its interaction with the host animal. They will also take earwax from host animals and this may again be a parasitic action.
    Some species, such as elephants, will actively deter oxpeckers by dislodging them whilst other species appear to be more comfortable whilst the birds are perched upon them. It may well be that some species do benefit from the presence of the oxpeckers, but for the time being the jury is out.

    Posted