Yellow-billed oxpecker

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the yellow-billed oxpecker in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name Le pique-boeuf and the Latin Buphagus.{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés | volume=2 | language=fr, la | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | pages=437–439, Plate 42 fig 2 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36011769 }} The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.{{cite journal |last=Allen | first=J.A. | author-link=Joel Asaph Allen | year=1910 | title=Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=28 | pages=317–335 | hdl=2246/678 }} When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the yellow-billed oxpecker. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Buphaga africana and cited Brisson's work.{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | page=154 | url= https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946350 }} This species is placed in the genus Buphagus that was introduced by Brisson.{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title= Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés | language=fr, la | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | at=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010430 Volume 1, p. 32]; [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36011768 Volume 2, p. 436] }}

Two subspecies are recognised:{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2018 | title=Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, treecreepers, mockingbirds, starlings, oxpeckers | work=World Bird List Version 8.1 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/nuthatch/| publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=11 May 2018 }}

• B. a. subsp. africanus Linnaeus, 1766 – Mauritania and Senegal to northwest Ethiopia south to northeast South Africa
• B. a. subsp. langi Chapin, 1921 – Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and west Angola

The yellow-billed oxpecker nests in tree holes lined with hair plucked from livestock. It lays 2–3 eggs. Outside the breeding season it is fairly gregarious, forming large, chattering flocks. Non-breeding birds will roost on their host animals at night.

The yellow-billed oxpecker eats insects and ticks. Both the English and scientific names arise from this species' habit of perching on large wild and domesticated mammals such as cattle and eating arthropod parasites.{{cite journal |doi=10.7717/peerj.4520 |pmid=29576981 |pmc=5863707 |title=Large-scale assessment of commensalistic–mutualistic associations between African birds and herbivorous mammals using internet photos |journal=PeerJ |volume=6 |pages=e4520 |year=2018 |last1=Mikula |first1=Peter |last2=Hadrava |first2=Jiří |last3=Albrecht |first3=Tomáš |last4=Tryjanowski |first4=Piotr |doi-access=free }} It will also perch on antelopes such as wildebeest. In a day an adult will take more than 100 engorged female Boophilus decoloratus ticks or 13,000 larvae.

However, their preferred food is blood, and while they may take ticks bloated with blood, they also feed on it directly,{{cite book | author = Feare, Chris J. | year = 2003 | title = Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds | chapter = Starlings and Mynas | editor = Christopher Perrins | editor-link = Christopher Perrins | pages = [https://archive.org/details/fireflyencyclope0000unse/page/530 530–533] | publisher = Firefly Books | isbn = 1-55297-777-3 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/fireflyencyclope0000unse/page/530 }} pecking at the mammal's wounds until blood flows.{{cite book|author=Dr John Capinera|title=Insects and Wildlife: Arthropods and their Relationships with Wild Vertebrate Animals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5FLCiqjNL3MC&pg=PT538|date=2011-09-13|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-5784-4|pages=538–}} Whatever the net result, mammals generally tolerate oxpeckers.

The yellow-billed oxpecker is {{cvt|20|cm}} 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.{{cite book|title=Roberts Birds of South Africa| page = 534 |first1=Geoffrey Roy |last1=McLachlan |first2=R. |last2=Liversidge |others =Illustrated by Lighton, N. C. K.; Newman, K.; Adams, J.; Gronvöld, H|chapter = 747 Yellow-billed Oxpecker|year=1978 |edition=4th |publisher=The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund}} Its flight is strong and direct. The call is a hissy, crackling krisss, krisss.

{{Reflist}}

• Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, {{ISBN|1-873403-32-1}}
• Starlings and Mynas by Feare and Craig, {{ISBN|0-7136-3961-X}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.007 |pmid=16806992 |title=Nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data reveal the major lineages of starlings, mynas and related taxa |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=333–44 |year=2006 |last1=Zuccon |first1=Dario |last2=Cibois |first2=Alice |last3=Pasquet |first3=Eric |last4=Ericson |first4=Per G.P |bibcode=2006MolPE..41..333Z }}

• Yellow-billed oxpecker – [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/771.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1466229}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

Category:Buphagus

Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa

Category:Birds described in 1766

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus