One afternoon a few of us rangers went out to go and look for a large herd of buffalo that have been spending quite a lot of time in the southern, more open grassland areas of Londolozi. It didn’t take us long to spot the hundreds of tracks and furrows through the grass leading towards a very prominent watering hole in the distance. We looped around on the road to get there quickly, and as we had hoped – there they were! It’s always entertaining sitting with a large herd of buffalo, watching and discussing all the different interactions between the different individuals. This afternoon however, the topic of discussion had to do with a much smaller, but very interesting detail of the herd.
Often when you come across a herbivore such as an impala, zebra, or wildebeest you will happen to see a small brown bird sitting on them or clambering around their bodies. These birds are known as oxpeckers, more specifically red-billed oxpeckers. They are generally quite common birds to see and their call is rather distinct, especially to those who do a lot of trail walks in big game areas. Their call is enough to alert us to the presence of animals and in particular rhino or buffalo. Oxpeckers mainly feed on ticks and other ectoparasites that are found on the bodies of wild animals. On the contrary to the common, red-billed oxpecker, there is another type of oxpecker that is seldom seen – the yellow-billed oxpecker.
The reason for the yellow-billed oxpecker being quite rare is that you are more likely to see them around a large herd of buffalo rather than the smaller herbivores like impala. They have slightly more body mass than their red-billed relatives and therefore prefer animals with a larger surface area because this means more ticks and parasites to sustain their slightly denser body mass. This way they are able to gorge themselves in one area as opposed to flying between smaller herds of animals in search of food.
Although both species are rather similar, the yellow is differs from the red-billed by a pale rump and a broad bill with a red tip and a yellow base (where it gets its name from). The red-billed has a dark rump and a yellow wattle around the eye.
It was also thought that in the early 1900’s they were extinct as a breeding species in South Africa, due to the cape buffalo and other large herbivore populations being drastically reduced by the Rinderpest virus. This virus killed more than 5.2 million cattle as well as domestic sheep, goats and wild populations of buffalo, giraffe, and wildebeest in southern Africa. The first record of breeding was only later in 1985.
So next time you are out in the bush and you have the opportunity to be in and amongst a large herd of buffalo, be sure to look out for these impressive birds. Let me know if you’ve seen the yellow-billed oxpecker in the comments below…
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I wonder how many species succumbed to extinction due to illnesses brought by humans. By the way I’m happy buffalo and oxpecker are still there
The yellow-billed oxpecker’s coloring is so vivid!
Yes, at Londolozi in 2011, while watching the four lion brothers, then the dominate males, lazily stalk a large herd of buffalo.
Hi Tom, thats amazing that you got to see the lions stalk as well as the Yellow-billed Oxpeckers.
Great photos of the birds and buffalos. Yes, when I was at Londolozi in April I saw lots of the yellow billed oxpeckers.
Thank you Christa. Glad you got to see them when you were here.
Saw a single Yellow-billed Oxpecker in Aug 2014 in amongst a large herd of buffalo and lots of Red-billed Oxpeckers.
Our guide, Don Heyneke and Tracker Judas were quite excited as were we as we appreciated the significance of the sighting.
Yes, I did see them years ago on EP, when there was a huge buffalo herd of more than 200 animals. It took me a while to see the difference between the two!
we see them but don’t really see them. They are just part of the Buffalo . Thanks fir teaching us something new! Victoria
Yes! Tom is posting details as he keeps the records:-)
Tayla, loved oxpeckers🤗
An interesting read Twyla…let’s hope the Rinderpest Virus never rears its ugly head again ! What an awful catastrophe that was. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a yellow billed oxpecker, but for all my time watching game I don’t think I ever go close enough to know there were two type of oxpeckers anyway so I might have missed this wonderful opportunity !
Hi Cally, yes it was an awful catastrophe. You do have to look very closely sometimes so hopefully next time you will be able to see them.
Tayla, you surprised us today! We did not know that there were two types of oxpeckers! We also see that one of the images has both types, and it seems like one of that group that has no color on its beak. Would that be a baby?
Hi Michael and Terri, yes that would be one of the juveniles that has no colour on its beak.
Viewing Cape buffalo in large herds is always exciting but even more interesting are the oxpeckers clambering around their bodies-especially their heads. I’ve noticed both the red and yellowed billed birds recently, occupying space on the same Buffalo. I hadn’t realized until your article that the yellow billed were not as prevalent. Kudos to James Souchon for his detailed image.
Twyla we did see the Oxpeckers on the buffalo’s in the Kruger Park, but for the life of me I cannot remember if it was the red or the yellow Oxpecker. They were also on the giraffe’s and saw a lot of them. Thanks for this vital information, I did not know that there were two different Oxpeckers.
Tayla, how was the Rinderpest virus eradicated. Could it return?