Piapiac

The piapiac is a common African bird I'd never heard of and never seen despite five previous trips to Africa, including safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. On our trip I kept asking our guide, William, what they were. At one point, I think a little exasperated, he told me that we'd seen lots of them and I keep asking him about them. I think part of my difficulty was the name. Piapiac does not sound to me like the name of a bird, and perhaps the way he said it didn't register with me. Another confusing aspect was that juveniles have a bright red bill that makes them look like a different bird and it took me a long time to figure out that they were the same species, even though they were always together. Another curious aspect was that they were often standing on the backs of animals. In particular, we saw them standing on the backs of rhinos, elephants and cape buffalo, but even smaller animals such as warthogs. I kept wondering where the oxpeckers were, which we'd seen riding on the backs of those animals in Kenya and Tanzania. We finally saw some oxpeckers in Kidepo Valley NP, but not commonly and not in anywhere near the same numbers as the piapiac. 

An adult piapiac in Murchison Falls NP.

A juvenile piapiac in MFNP. Note the lack of tail. I saw juveniles with long tails and wonder if it is something that grows later?

A juvenile transitioning into adult. Note the bill changing from red to black. 

This and the next two photos are of piapiacs in trees in Kidepo Valley NP with both juveniles and adults. 

The piapiac obtains foods by moving together along the ground in flocks of ten or more. They eat mostly insects and invertebrates, but will eat some carrion. They will also eat fruit from trees, including the fruit from the oil palm which is a favorite. 

An illustration of the piapiac from Birds of the World. 

The piapiac is a member of the crow family and it the only member of its genus (Ptilostomus). Its closest  relatives are the ground jays of Central Asia. It is black overall with silky textured feathers  and a purplish gloss in good light. The base of the tail is brown, or more brown, than the rest of the body. The bill is black, but reddish-pink towards the base in juveniles. The legs and feet are black. The color of the iris varies, but tends toward violet, purple or mauve with a bluish-purple outer ring. 

Range of the piapiac from Birds of the World.

The reason I did not see it on previous trips to Africa is obviously that I was not in an area where they were found. I've been to Ghana and may have been in the range there, but we did not do a safari or any bird watching in Ghana. It is a Central African bird. 

One reason they catch rides on large animals as the large animals stir up insects as they walk. Here they are on a cape buffalo. 

Here they are on an elephant.

Here they are on a white rhino in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.