Looking for a Meal

A wattled starling (Creatophora cinerea) perches on the back of a wildebeest. Lacking the distinctive black and yellow markings on its face, this starling may be a non-breeding male or a female.

Starlings hope to score a meal when hanging with their big friends. Livestock movement can stir up insects or reveal ectoparasites (like ticks, mites, or fly larvae) on their tough hide.

Either way, this bird is hungry and ready to help.

It is a good example of mutualistic symbiosis. Or cast proverbially, why we work better in teams.

Home with the Herd

Home with the herd for a breather. After a bit, it's back to Africa. We'll be on the trail of "The Great Migration" for a month.

Bestie Beasties

We usually think of the wildebeest (gnu) in the context of "the Great Migration" of the Serengeti. However, mixed in these traveling mega-herds are many other species, including zebras.

The relationship between the wildebeest and the zebra is most interesting. These two animals crop grasses differently, so their grazing is complementary. They also perceive their world differently (helpful for avoiding predators!); the wildebeest's keen sense of smell complements the zebra's keen senses of sight and sound.

Working together, these animals do better than working alone. There's a sermon in there somewhere.

On the trail of the Great Migration

The stream of wildebeests and zebras flowed north toward the Kenyan border. We followed it.

Symbiosis

Zebra, wildebeest, and insects. Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania.