(July 27, 2022 at 11:21 am)The Grand Nudger Wrote: There's this bird called an ox pecker. It has a well adapted scissor shaped bill for digging ticks out of large animals hides, and claws that help it hold tight otj.
However, this is not a very good deal for those animals - as it keeps the wound open so that it can feed on their blood.
Sweet Dreams!
![[Image: oxpecker.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop]](https://cdn.britannica.com/81/117181-050-8ECF7667/oxpecker.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)
It may actually be beneficial to the animals involved. Some haematophages (particularly ticks and fleas) are vectors for a whole raft of disease pathogens. If the ox peckers keep blood flowing to the wound, it could help prevent infection (the anticoagulant secreted by some leech species does exactly that).
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
