The oxpecker is a species of bird that if frequently seen on African animals such as the Cape buffalo, as in this painting. The connection between the oxpecker and the Cape buffalo is a kind of symbiosis called mutualism, where both species benefit from the other. In this case, the oxpecker gets a meal from the buffalo in the form of ticks, and the buffalo gets these parasites removed.

Birders reading this have quickly realized the the bird depicted here is not an oxpecker, nor even an African species of bird. Rather, this is a house finch, a fairly common species in the United States.

I chose to contrast an African animal with a North American bird to offer a different kind of symbiotic relationship: that life is ultimately connected.