Buphagus africanus

Southern Africa is blessed with two species of oxpecker. The yellow-billed oxpecker is definitely the harder of the two to find in South Africa, where it is best seen in the northern reaches of the Kruger National Park. Interestingly, the yellow-billed is most often found on big game animals (such as buffalo) while its red-billed cousin is happy on both big and small.

We first recorded this species at our lodge’s waterhole in the Tsavo West National Park in September 2012 and then again 5 months later near Punda Maria in the north of the Kruger National Park.