The red-billed oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) is named for its habit of perching on large mammals such as cattle, zebras, impalas, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and giraffe. Native to the savannah of sub-Saharan Africa, its range overlaps that of the less widespread yellow-billed oxpecker. The red-billed oxpecker nests in tree holes lined with hair plucked from livestock. An adult will take nearly 100 blood-engorged female Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus ticks, or more than 12,000 larvae in a day. But its preferred food is blood, and while it may take ticks bloated with blood, it also feeds on it directly, pecking at the mammal's wounds to keep them open.
