Oxpeckers fighting over buffalo blood

Red-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) fighting over who gets to drink next from the open wound on a buffalo. Although their main diet is ticks (eating 100 engorged female Boophilus decoloratus ticks, or more than 12,000 larvae in a day), it has been well documented that they will readily feed on blood. They even peck at the wounds on animals to keep them open and the blood flowing. In the footage, you will see a large scar above the hole that the birds are drinking from. This is most likely the healed sections of previous 'drinking holes' created by the birds.

The footage was filmed in Kruger National Park on the S139 near Biyamiti Bushveld Camp.
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Видео Oxpeckers fighting over buffalo blood канала Birda