Dust Bath!

Off the Giraffe and onto the Giraffe!

Just after the sun had set we encountered a group of Red-billed Oxpeckers which were all over this South African Giraffe, feeding on the many ticks in its skin.

The large mammal was ruminating (re-chewing food from a previous feeding session) and therefore standing very still in the road for a long time. Animals seldom move unless they have a reason to do so. And as the food to chew came straight from one of its own stomach chambers, there was no need to expend energie by moving around.

As we watched the small birds through our binoculars expertly picking up the parasites, they decided to take a dust bath right in the road.

As many other birds they keep their feathers pliable, weather-proof, and ready for flight with an oil secreted from a gland on their body. But this oil can build up, resulting in greasy and matted feathers. During a dust bath dirt particles bind to the excess oil.

After flapping around for a while the Oxpeckers fluffed out their feathers and shook off the excess dust before they returned to their long-necked host with freshly maintained feathers.

Technical data (top): Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 5000 | 1/750sec | f6.7 | ev+1.5 | 150mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 60% of original image

Technical data (bottom): Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 20000 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 5% of original image

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