Scientific name:
Pluvianus aegypticus

Natural spread:
Africa

on the sandbanks and at the shores of rivers and seas of Egypt as well as in the tropical Africa of Senegal until Ethiopia, Uganda and North-Angola lives usually in pairs the 21 cm big crocodile-guards from the subfamily of the reindeer-birds.

Way of life Crocodile-guards live from insects, mollusks and all possible edible provided it has only the correct size. Supposedly, these birds - as described already from Aristotle - should take away food-remains and parasites from the opened pharynxes from recumbent crocodiles; exact observations to this topic however still are outstanding. Certainly it only is that crocodiles keep an eye on the movements of the crocodile-guards: As soon as the birds appear troubled, also the big lizards become especially aware.

Opposite the people, crocodile-guards appear quite trustful.

Reproduction The crocodile-guards put its nest (2-3 eggs) into an ungepolsterte ground-hollow and cover it largely with sand. The brooding bird sits on the sand over the eggs to protect from too strong sun-irradiation presumably about it so. Before abandonment of the nest, crocodile-guards cover its eggs completely with sand. The brood-duration is not known. Also the sand-colored Dunenjungen are added with danger, occasionally this happens also without recognizable outer occasion. From time to time, the alto-birds moisten the "nest" with high-choked water. The squabs follow its parents as Nestflüchter soon and become gehudert from them, seeks its food independently soon, however.