Red-billed oxpeckers hitching rides on the backs of black rhinos are a common sight in the African bush. The birds are best known for feeding from lesions full of ticks or other parasites on a rhino’s ...

In Swahili, red-billed oxpeckers are called Askari wa kifaru, or 'the rhino's guard.' Now, an article suggests that this indigenous name rings true: red-billed oxpeckers may behave like sentinels, ...

In sub-Saharan Africa, red-billed oxpeckers feed on the parasites of rhinos and more than 20 other species of mammal. Now, new research suggests the birds may also serve as sentinels that help rhinos ...