38 BULLETIN 2 08, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



in South Africa for January, February, and March as well. In other 

 words, there are records of guiding throughout the year in South 

 Africa. 



It is only fair to include observations of those who consider there is 

 some seasonal correlation. Thus, Capt. H, B. Potter, of the Hluhluwe 

 Keserve, was of the opinion that guiding in Zululand was chiefly in- 

 dulged in during the time when the birds were breeding — October to 

 January. On the other hand, Will Foster, of the Umfolozi Reserve 

 nearby in Zululand, thought the birds guided mostly in the winter 

 (May to August) but on further questioning admitted that he noticed 

 the birds mostly in the winter because that was when he did most of 

 his hunting. However, it is obvious from the evidence of these two 

 men in the same general area that guiding was done throughout the 

 year. 



In Upemba Park, southern Belgian Congo, Verheyen (1951, p. 49) 

 found guiding to be seasonal, depending, apparently, on the flowering 

 of the vegetation, which, in turn, affects the activities of the bees. It 

 seems from his description that in the xerophitic woodlands of the 

 Katanga the efflorescence of the trees and shrubs is seasonally re- 

 stricted in very marked and striking fashion. Verheyen's experience, 

 based on two years residence, cannot be brushed aside easily, yet it 

 is so out of keeping with the bulk of data from other parts of the 

 continent that I cannot look upon it as more than a local situation 

 and not as clear cut even there as he suggests. 



Judging by negative evidence only, Lynes (1925, p. 352) wondered 

 whether the absence of guiding behavior in Darfur from May to Au- 

 gust might have been correlated with the fact that the honey-guides 

 were not in breeding condition at the time. 



Evidence of the nonseasonal nature of the guiding habit in East 

 Africa comes from J. G. Williams, who informs me that he has been 

 guided in Tanganyika Territory at the start of the rains and on the 

 Mara River, Kenya Colony, during the dry season. He collected two 

 adult guiding individuals and found that one, a female, was in full 

 breeding condition, and the other, a male, had the testes quite small — 

 obviously not a bird in breeding condition. 



Other field naturalists in various parts of Africa have sent me similar 

 statements, the total of which indicates that guiding is done through- 

 out the year. 



Guiding is done to bee's nests that are full of food and also to new 

 and as yet empty nests, provided bees are flying in and out. In the 

 Umfolozi Reserve, Zululand, Will Foster, the superintendent, reports 

 that a greater honey-guide tried to lead him to a bee's nest which 

 had been begun in a corner of his house just two days before. The 

 nest was still empty. 



