Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Either of two African starlings (Buphagus africanus or B. erythrorhyncus) that feed on the ticks found on the hides of large wild or domestic animals. Also called tickbird.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. 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.
- n. 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.
Wiktionary
- n. Either of two species of passerine bird in the genus Buphagus, in the monotypic family Buphagidae, endemic to sub-Saharan African savannah.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) An African bird of the genus Buphaga; the beefeater.
Etymologies
- ox + pecker (Wiktionary)
Examples
“* In Zambia, in 1987, a dead buffalo with a dead oxpecker lying next to it.”
“Oberem also works for a dip manufacturer, AfriVet, which has an oxpecker as its logo and sells dips that birds can safely ingest.”
“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.”
“Mystery bird: yellow-billed oxpecker, Buphagus africanus”
The Guardian: High doses of common painkillers increase stroke risk, warn researchers
“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?”
The Washington Post: For young readers: ÂHow to Clean a Hippopotamus'
“Is an oxpecker a parasite or a helpful scavenger - your basic feathered cleaner wrasse?”
“He has spotted fresh buffalo spoor followed by a flock of alarmed oxpecker birds taking flight.”
“As it fed, four red billed oxpecker birds joined in picking at the tics in its skin.”
“As the giraffe stood up and shook off the water it drenched the yellow-billed oxpecker that had been removing ticks from its back.”
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
“National Geographic-esque photographs in this TIME publication - oxpecker birds riding atop a warthog, a profile of a lion and an antelope in close embrace on the Serengeti, a baby beluga blowing water rings, and, my favorite, a clutch of Japanese snow monkeys lounging like old men in a hot springs.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘oxpecker’.
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• De rerum natura
What is this list about?
Interesting words in nature and natural science (in any language!).
What kind of words am I supposed to add?
You can add species names that you lov...lagerstätte, parthenogenesis, bushbaby, lepidoptera, dinoflagellate, pupation, chrysalis, ephemeroptera, deinococcus radio..., homoplasy, sciophilous, syncytium and 218 more...
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birds
masked cardinal, bobwhite, masked lovebird, obscure honeyeater, creamy-rumped miner, laced woodpecker, robust lancetooth, purplish honeycre..., shining honeycreeper, honeycreeper, sugarbird, honeyeater and 122 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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Still More Bird Wirds
A work in progress....Birds from around the world (other than endemic to North America).
barbet, hornbill, trogon, bee-eater, bristlehead, wren-babbler, stubtail, blackeye, bush warbler, cassowary, bowerbird, bird-of-paradise and 722 more...
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Words that sound dirty, but aren't
Inspired by a Candid Camera sketch.
horehound, fugue, ramrod, jocular, thespian, titmouse, masticate, pussyfoot, angina, booby, formicate, hoar and 64 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for oxpecker.
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