A recent sighting at Ghaub had birders excited: the Red-Billed Oxpecker! Found some 200 km outside its usual range, this sighting was a thrilling experience. And here’s an interesting fact: the Red-Billed Oxpecker has been named the bird of 2025! Surely, that’s not a coincidence.
The Red-Billed Oxpecker
It’s time to take a closer look at this remarkable bird, which serves not only as nature’s cleaner but also as its sentinel, playing a critical role in protecting endangered species. The Red-Billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorynchus) is a small bird with a big impact in sub-Saharan Africa’s savannahs. Found from Ethiopia to northeastern South Africa, it thrives in open landscapes alongside large mammals. Juvenile oxpeckers are dark brown with olive-colored bills, which turn bright red as they mature. Known for their strong flight and characteristic hissy, crackling calls (trik-quisss), these birds are both visible and audible across the eastern African savannah.
Oxpeckers build their nests in tree holes lined with hair plucked from livestock and typically lay 2-5 eggs. Outside the breeding season (breeding season = October to March), they form noisy flocks. Their diet primarily consists of ticks and insects. Both the English and scientific names refer to this species’ habit of perching on large wild and domesticated mammals such as cattle and eating ticks. A single oxpecker can consume nearly 100 engorged ticks in a single day!
Rhino Guardians
Known as Askari wa kifaru (“rhino’s guard” in Swahili), oxpeckers have been studied for their unique relationship with rhinos. One study from 2020 revealed that their alarm calls help rhinos detect danger from as far as 61 meters away—far more than the 27 meters they could sense without the birds (Oxpeckers Help Rhinos Evade Humans, Plotz & Linklater, 2020, Current Biology 30, May 18, 2020)!
Stefan Rust, a well-known hobby ornithologist and passionate nature conservationist, suggests that the oxpecker sighting at Ghaub is partly due to the reintroduction of rhinos and the farm’s practice of pesticide-free cattle farming.
What a fantastic way to start our first newsletter of 2025! The presence of oxpeckers at Ghaub serves as a reminder of the fascinating balance of nature and the unique connections within it. Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming newsletters!
Range of the Red-Billed Oxpeckers. The pin indicating the location of Ghaub is approximately 200 km outside its ‘normal’ range.
