The Egyption Plover Bird, or otherwise known as the "Crocodile Bird" is a bird that performs dentistry on the mouths of crocodiles in Sub Saharan Africa. The crocodile doesn't eat the bird but rather opens it's mouth so the bird can climb in and eat leaches or other parasites from the croc's teeth.
Apparently, this has gone on for centuries and is recorded in historical records. I just have to wonder what happened to the first bird that tried this.
Crocodiles have brains the size of a golfball. The only reason I know this is I considered shooting one and looked in the Perfect Shot manual. It's a primordial brain that most reptiles have used primarily for survival. So, I think it's unlikely the croc saw a bird feeding on leeches and reasoned to open its mouth and invite the bird in.
On the other hand, the birds brain is small..... well a bird brain. The Plover lays it's eggs in the sand and actually incubates the eggs there as opposed to nesting on them. And when there is danger, the bird buries its young hatchlings in the sand as well.
And then there are Remoras attached to Sharks, the sharks let them hitch a ride but dont eat them. When the sharks feed, the Remoras get the pieces.
So what started the symbiosis with the bird and the croc. I suspect the first successful opportunistic bird was sitting on a branch when a croc opened its mouth, revealing a bunch of leaches. The bird swooped down and snatched the parasite and the croc 's brain sensed the good feeling. The bird then realized it hadn't been eaten and went back for seconds. Thus, a relationship was established. From there, the behavior was imprinted in the two animals and their offspring carried on the tradition.
But I suspect along the line, someone got chomped, somewhere. Had to happen.
