Hungry birds gather on hippo's back for a rare feast

A hippo was groomed by some Oxpecker birds while it was grazing on a bank in Kruger National Park.

In the clip, filmed September 30, More than a dozen oxpeckers feast on the back of a hippo as it enjoys some time out of the water.

Oxpeckers are little birds that feed off of ticks and bugs living on hippos.

“To see so many birds gathering on one host was rather spectacular," says filmer Edrich Schafer. "The birds clearly made the most of this rare opportunity while the hippo was out of the water to feast on those ticks and parasites on his enormous body."

Schafer adds: “In the end, it looked like the hippo had enough of the sun and the birds and very slowly made his way back into the water.”