Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Either of two African starlings (Buphagus africanus or B. erythrorhyncus) that feed on ticks and other insects found on the hides of large wild or domestic animals.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An African bird of the genus Buphaga, or family Buphagidæ: so called from its habit of alighting on cattle to peck for food. See cut under
Buphaga . - noun It is somewhat smaller than a robin, of a grayish-brown color, with dark wings and a yellow bill. This bird is found in northern and eastern Africa. A second species, the red-billed oxpecker, B. erythrorhyncha, inhabits central Africa. See
Buphaga , with cut.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) An African bird of the genus Buphaga; the beefeater.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Either of two
species ofpasserine bird in thegenus Buphagus , in themonotypic familyBuphagidae , endemic tosub-Saharan African savannah .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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An oxpecker can eat 13,000 of them in a day, and the meals are everywhere – on antelope, horses, cattle, buffalo, rhino, lion, elephant and leopard.
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An oxpecker can eat 13,000 of them in a day, and the meals are everywhere – on antelope, horses, cattle, buffalo, rhino, lion, elephant and leopard.
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Oberem also works for a dip manufacturer, AfriVet, which has an oxpecker as its logo and sells dips that birds can safely ingest.
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* In Zambia, in 1987, a dead buffalo with a dead oxpecker lying next to it.
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Mystery bird: yellow-billed oxpecker, Buphagus africanus
High doses of common painkillers increase stroke risk, warn researchers 2011
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Oberem also works for a dip manufacturer, AfriVet, which has an oxpecker as its logo and sells dips that birds can safely ingest.
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This smart picture book about animal symbiosis features five illustrations on its opening spread, each paired up with a question such as "Why does a giraffe let an oxpecker climb into its ear?" or "Why does a plover stroll into a crocodile's mouth?"
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Is an oxpecker a parasite or a helpful scavenger - your basic feathered cleaner wrasse?
The evolution of vampires Darren Naish 2007
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He has spotted fresh buffalo spoor followed by a flock of alarmed oxpecker birds taking flight.
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As it fed, four red billed oxpecker birds joined in picking at the tics in its skin.
WalesOnline - Home WalesOnline 2011
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