In the vast African savannah, whether it is a thick hippopotamus, a mild zebra, or a grumpy buffalo, on their backs will stand one or more little cute, these little cute and these large herbivores accompany each other, inseparable, presenting a happy and harmonious scene, this little cute name is called - the liáng bird.
The starling belongs to the family Offinch starlings, with a body length of about 20 cm, and there are currently only two species of red-billed starlings and yellow-billed starlings. The starling and the large herbivores are very good friends, and in the hot and humid summer of the African savannah, the bulky hippopotamus is plagued by parasites, and in the softness of its skin folds, there are often fleas, lice and ticks, which will make the hippopotamus feel uncomfortable, miserable but there is nothing they can do, then its good friend starling can show its skills.
Using its sharp claws, the starling securely attaches itself to the smooth outer skin of the hippopotamus, and then uses its flat beak to peck at the parasites attached to the hippopotamus's body surface one by one. If the starling is a hairy animal such as giraffe, zebra, and large antelope, they will also have the work of cleaning the hair, which can be said to be a very good partner.
Not only can it help large animals, peck at parasites and clean their hair, but the starlings also act as sentinels. Herbivores survive on the African grassland, it can be said that it is dangerous, they should be careful of lion hyenas when eating and drinking, but also mention the crocodiles in the waterproof, especially when eating grass, bathing, sleeping, drinking water, the vigilance of these herbivores will be reduced, it is easy to be attacked by predators. At this time, the starling standing on their backs will play a warning role, and will warn whenever the wind blows.
For these large herbivores, the starling can be said to be a very intimate presence. However, it is such a close friend who sometimes plays the role of the devil and brings pain to herbivores.
Survive in the wild, animals sometimes inevitably hurt and bleed, and blood is a "delicacy" that starlings like very much, once they find wounds on animals, starlings will peck at the blood of their wounds, in order to get more blood, starlings will deliberately use their beaks to expand and deepen the wounds, so that they can suck blood at any time. In addition, the blood of animals breeds a large number of vampire lice, which in turn provides a lot of food for the starlings.
By doing so, the starling can make the animal's wounds difficult to heal, aggravate the infection, and in severe cases, cause the animal to die. In order to allow themselves to get more food, the starling does not hesitate to hurt their good friends and aggravate their suffering, it can be said that they are half angels and half devils, and good things and bad things are done.