Oxpecrer, a bird of the starling family, and the genus buphaga (Linn.), inhabiting the warm parts of Africa; it is also called "beefeater." The bill is pincer-like, stout and broad at the base, with depressed culmen and curved tip; the wings long and pointed, the first quill very short and the third the longest; the tail long, broad, and wedge-shaped, with the end of each feather pointed; tarsi and toes robust, and the claws compressed, curved, and sharp. The best known species, B. Africana (Linn.), is between 8 and 9 in. long, reddish brown above and yellowish white below; the bill is yellowish, with a red tip. It is shy, generally seen in flocks of seven or eight, about herds of cattle, alighting on their backs and extracting the larvae of the bot flies (cestridoe) which infest them; the bulging of the bill at the end is admirably adapted for gently squeezing out these and other parasites from under the skin, which form their chief food. Another species, B. erythrorhyncha (Stanl.), has a red bill.

Oxpecker (Buphaga Africana).