Impala grins with delight as tick-eating bird gives him the VIP fur-cleaning treatment

We all like a spring clean every now and then and this impala is no different.

The antelope was pictured grimacing with delight as it was pecked over by an over-zealous tick-eating bird.

British amateur wildlife snapper Chris Hadfield captured the impala's hilarious expressions during a trip to Kruger National Park, South Africa.

The impala, pictured in South Africa's Kruger National Park, gives a satisfied grimace while being cleaned.

Mrs Hadfield, 60, from Durham said: 'The birds, called oxpeckers, are doing a service of cleaning up the impala.

'They eat ticks and tick larvae as some get a lot of these on them. They also clean the ears by removing earwax and they clean debris from the corners of the eyes.'

She added: 'I just love the expression on the impala's face. It's hard to tell if it's uncomfortable or a real relief.'

Although generally believed to help the animal they are pecking, recent research shows that in fact the oxpecker might be a parasite itself.

Oxpeckers do eat ticks, but often the ticks have already fed on the host and no statistically significant link has been shown between the oxpecker's feast and a reduction in parasites.

The animal was having a rest when it let the oxpecker bird clean the ticks and larvae from its fur.