Red-billed Oxpecker Re-claiming KwaZulu Natal Farming Areas.
The Red-billed Oxpecker is not an endangered species in the CITES lists but poisoning had wiped it out in certain livestock farming areas of South Africa. Now, with a little help, the Oxpecker is re-establishing itself.
The Red-billed Oxpecker is a member of the starling and myna family Sturndidae. It is native to the Savannah of sub-Saharan Africa, from the Central African Republic east to Sudan and south to northern and eastern South Africa.
It is basically an insect eater, but gets its name from its habit of feeding on ticks and other insects living on the hides of large animals. While it is claimed that it can eat up to 100 engorged ticks a day this is often secondary as its favourite food is blood which it sources by opening tick bites with its beak. It is even claimed it will stop wounds from healing to ensure an ongoing supply of blood.
