Watch this oxpecker bird's remarkable vanishing act - when he disappears INSIDE a rhino's EAR while searching for ticks to peck at.

The clip, filmed on August 26 in South Africa's famed Kruger National Park, shows a male white rhino grazing while the bird flits around its head and crawls into its ear to eat insects.

“Immediately our attention was moved to the bird jumping on the head of the rhino and showing a keen interest in the ears of the rhino," wrote the filmer, a long-time wildlife watcher.

“The bird then moves straight into one ear of the rhino and suddenly disappears into it. We were stunned and could not believe that this big male rhino was allowing a medium-sized bird to go all the way down his ear."

Oxpecker birds are known to feed on dead skin, ticks and insects on rhinos and they cause no discomfort to the animals while grooming.

"This rhino clearly welcomed the bird down his ear to get rid of those irritating insects and possible excess earwax," the filmer added.

It is always fascinating to witness nature at work and to see how everything has a purpose with such great precision and efficiency. The video shows how a grazing rhino amazingly allows a medium sized bird called an oxpecker to totally disappear into its ear. During a safari in Kruger Park we came across a male white rhino busy grazing. Immediately our attention was moved to the bird jumping on the head of the rhino and showing a keen interest in the ears of the rhino. The bird then moves straight into the one ear of the rhino and suddenly disappears into it. We were stunned and could not believe that this big male rhino was allowing a medium sized bird to go all the way down his ear. The rhino did not show any discomfort and clearly had no problem with this weird looking situation. Oxpeckers are almost always in attendance of white rhino. They glean ticks and parasites off the skin of the rhino and regularly reach for those hard to reach places such as ears and nostrils, supplying themselves with a meal and their hosts with a free grooming session. They also feed on dead skin and of course earwax. This rhino clearly welcomed the bird down his ear to get rid of those irritating insects and possible excess earwax.