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Red-billed Oxpecker
Photo by John Dempsey

Family: Buphagidae

[edit] Description

Oxpeckers are native to the savannas of Africa.
Both species have a similar plumage and show no sexual dimorphism.
They spend most of their time on large mammals, feeding on the host's skin parasites, flies or blood from a wound.

[edit] Taxonomy

Buphagidae is a family in the order Passeriformes.
The two species of this family have been included in the family Sturnidae in the past.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

• List of references