A critical evaluation of the role played by the red-billed oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchus in the biological control of ticks
Loading...
Date
Authors
Bezuidenhout, J. Dürr
Stutterheim, C.J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Published by the Government Printer, Pretoria.
Abstract
Buphagus erythrorhynchus uses 4 feeding methods-scissoring, plucking, pecking and insect catching. During the day the birds spend 68% of their time feeding, with peaks of activity during the early morning and late afternoon. A total of 21 641 ixodid ticks were found in 53 stomachs examined, with a range of between 16 and 1 665 per stomach. Boophilus and Rhipicephalus were the most important genera eaten. Thirty Diptera, also found in the stomachs, accounted for 0,4% of the diet by mass. The food of the nestlings consisted of 45,6% ticks, 19, 4% Diptera and 35,0% hair and tissues. When kept in captivity, Buphagus was able to account for an appreciable reduction in the numbers of Boophilus on cattle, reaching a figure of 95,7% reduction for adult ticks. In controlled experiments Buphagus showed the highest preference for Boophilus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Hyalomma truncatum. The daily food intake of a captive bird was 14,7 g, which is equivalent to 7 195 engorged Amblyomma hebraeum larvae. Three acaricides, namely, amitraz, chloromethiuron and DDT, did not cause any clinically detectable toxicity in captive birds during a 5-day period.
Description
The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 300dpi.
Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.
Keywords
Veterinary medicine
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Bezuidenhout, JD & Stutterheim, CJ 1980, 'A critical evaluation of the role played by the red-billed oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchus in the biological control of ticks’, Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 51-75.