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Cleaning behaviour of yellow-billed oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) on the back of a large mammal Giant moray eel being cleaned by a bluestreak cleaner wrasse Cleaning symbiosis is a mutually beneficial association between individuals of two species, where one (the cleaner) removes and eats parasites and other materials from the surface of the ...
Oxpeckers also feed on the earwax and dandruff of mammals; less is known about the possible benefits of this to the mammal, but it is suspected that this is also a parasitic behaviour. [12] Some oxpeckers' hosts are intolerant of their presence. [13] Elephants and some antelope will actively dislodge the oxpeckers when they land.
Whatever the net result, mammals generally tolerate oxpeckers. [8] The yellow-billed oxpecker is 20 cm (7.9 in) long and has plain brown upperparts and head, buff underparts and a pale rump. The feet are strong. The adults' bills are yellow at the base and red at the tip, while juveniles have brown bills. [10] Its flight is strong and direct.
The preferred habitat is open country, and the red-billed oxpecker eats insects. Both the English and scientific names arise from this species' habit of perching on large wild and domesticated mammals such as cattle and eating ticks. [4] This species's relationship with rhinos gives the Swahili name Askari wa kifaru meaning "the rhino's guard". [5]
The impala is the smallest ungulate with which oxpeckers are associated. In a study it was observed that oxpeckers selectively attended to impala despite the presence of other animals such as Coke's hartebeest, Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle and topi.
Domestication has been defined as "a sustained multi-generational, mutualistic relationship in which one organism assumes a significant degree of influence over the reproduction and care of another organism in order to secure a more predictable supply of a resource of interest, and through which the partner organism gains advantage over individuals that remain outside this relationship ...
Red-billed oxpeckers and black rhinos have a symbiotic relationship. The oxpeckers feed on the bugs found on rhinos and the oxpeckers warn the rhinos about nearby poachers. [23] [24] A social relationship was observed between a narwhal and a group of beluga whales in the St. Lawrence River. The narwhal had been accepted into the group of beluga ...
Parasitism is a relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or in another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. [20] The parasite either feeds on the host, or, in the case of intestinal parasites, consumes some of its food.