The red-billed buffalo starling is a small bird about 20 centimeters long. It lives in Africa and spends a lot of time on the backs of large mammals, where it eats parasites.
The red-billed buffalo starling differs from other starlings by its habit of spending almost the entire day on large animals. It benefits by reducing the number of parasites on mammals and serves as an important part of African savannas.
Collects parasites directly from the bodies of large mammals using a sharp beak.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
pecking
Worker
birth time
Hot and almost no precipitation
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
parasitism
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
summer from pleasant to very hot
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
beak
adult
Maturity
invertebrates
About health
Warm or hot summer and rains
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
carrion
live ticks and mites
results
land coast flooded by tides — salt marshes, littoral zone
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
scavenging, eat already dead animals
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Warm or hot summer
Upcoming birthdays
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Age (juvenile)
insect larvae and caterpillars
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
Collects parasites directly from the bodies of large mammals using a sharp beak.
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Egg count
Pets
Repeatedly strikes or probes substrate with beak to obtain food.
terrestrial shrubland
Hot steppe
{name} jubilee
terrestrial shrub habitats — maquis, chaparral, bush
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
terrestrial intertidal
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Egg color
Where are they found?
38 to 65 grams, 15 – 40 centimeters
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Beak size
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
live flies, horseflies, dipterans
{name} birthday
Always hot
No results found
Eyes color
On the map
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Beak count
birth year
Maturity
lots of rain, summer from warm to very hot
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
How similar?
Egg size
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
flies
nest
What do they eat?
insect larvae
Where do they live?
from birth to death
Plumage color
world of Afrotropics
Duration
This is me
Steppe
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
ticks and mites
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
whole life
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
Orange
Length
kg
Observations
◉{N} more on tap