Editorial Development: Bonnie Brook Communications

77
WEEK 12
DAY 1
Name: 
READ THE WEB ENTRY
Think about the text features that are included within the Web entry.
oxpecker
(also known as tickbird) Light-brown bird that lives in sub-Saharan Africa
on the 
savannah. A relative of the starling, it is roughly eight inches long and has a large, broad bill and sharp 
claws. It perches on the backs of large animals, such as 
cattle, antelope, and rhinoceroses
. From these 
locations, it eats maggots, ticks, and 
flies that live on the animals’ hides. Along with cleaning the larger 
animals by eating bugs, oxpeckers help the animals by making hissing sounds when they see predators 
approaching. However, when eating 
parasites, the birds sometimes open new wounds on the mammals’ 
backs. These can take a long time to heal.
Scientists once believed that the oxpecker’s relationship with the mammals it cleaned was an example 
of mutualism
, which occurs when two types of species interact and both receive benefits from the 
exchange. However, recent findings indicate that the birds often eat ticks that have already bitten the larger 
animals, which means injuries to the animals have already occurred. The oxpecker may not greatly reduce 
the number of parasites that live on the animal. Scientists now believe that the bird itself may have a 
parasitic relationship with the larger animals.
Citation:
 
“oxpecker
.
”
 The Online Encyclopedia. 
Web. Dec. 16, 2011.
SKILL PRACTICE
Read each question. Fill in the bubble next to the correct answer.
 1. According to the Web entry, an oxpecker is a bird 
that could also be a 
.
A 
healer
B 
starling
C 
parasite
D 
mammal
 2. Some words in the Web entry are bold and