As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Friday 13 November 2015

Say awwww! Cute bird gives giraffe a free dental check up as it pecks away at bits between its teeth

Giraffe spotted getting a check-up by a flock of birds in Tanzania 
Red-billed oxpeckers feed on blood and ticks from large wild mammals
One of the birds was seen helping the giraffe clean its teeth out  

PUBLISHED: 10:23, 5 November 2015 | UPDATED: 11:50, 5 November 2015

Caters
Going to the dentist is a tiresome experience at best, and judging by this scene, it seems it is no different in the wild. 

These pictures show a giraffe waiting for a red-billed oxpecker to finish working as its dentist, in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.

However, despite the kind gesture from his bird-friend, the giraffe appears to be anything but grateful as it pulls a series of grumpy faces during the 'check-up'.  

The red-billed oxpecker is a common sight on the plains of sub-Saharan Africa, where they often spend their day perched on large wild mammals.

Their favourite foods are ticks and blood, and 'hunt' in the backs of  antelopes, zebras and giraffes - and evidently also their gums.

The amazing images were taken by Yulia Sundukova, a 36-year-old photographer from Moscow, Russia, lat month.

'It was so funny to witness - everything about it was like a trip to the dentist,' Ms Sundukova said. 


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