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 of passerine bird in the genus Buphagus, in the monotypic family Buphagidae, endemic to sub-Saharan African savannah.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

ox +‎ pecker

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