60 BULLETIN 2 OS, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



foraging symbiont. If the bird is subjected to an experience even 

 slightly similar to what, in Lorenz's terminology, would be called 

 "imprinting" by association at a bees' nest with the African human, 

 this "imprinting," if such it be, might more likely occur with young 

 honey-guides than with old ones. In areas where humans no longer 

 open wild bees' nests and where honey-guides make no attempt to 

 "guide" them, it might be instructive for resident naturalists to 

 deliberately open a number of such wild hives and see if this might 

 stimulate the birds to react towards humans with what we have come 

 to consider "guiding" behavior. It would be interesting to see if 

 such induced results would be more pronounced in immature (yellow- 

 throated) than in adult birds. We have no data as to how soon 

 after leaving the care of their foster parents the young honey-guides 

 begin to "guide"; we only know that birds in immature plumage 

 guide frequently, and that this plumage is not completely replaced 

 until the second year of the bird's life. 



Further evidence to the effect that it is the sight or sound of bees 

 and not any previous knowledge of a particular hive that brings to 

 a halt the "guiding" of the birds is the following item related to me 

 by C. J. Skead (in litt.). He was informed that two locally well 

 known bird observers, F. G. TurberviUe and his son, once followed 

 the guiding chatter of a greater honey-guide and were brought not 

 to a bees' nest but to a small, heavily flowered, sweet-scented shrub 

 about which bees were swarming and feeding on the flowers. A 

 careful search failed to reveal any sign of a hive nearby. 



Another observation illustrating the nonintelligent nature of 

 guiding was related to me by Skead (in litt.). He knew of an exposed 

 bees' nest on his farm for many years. The comb hung there in 

 plain view, within easy access through an opening 9 inches wide. If 

 ever there was a bees' nest available to the honey-guides without 

 the need of human intervention this was one, and yet Skead was 

 guided to it by a honey-guide on one occasion. 



Still another point may be made. Honey-guides have never been 

 reported to lead to long-deserted bees' nests even though they might 

 be full of comb. They seem to require the sight or sound of the 

 bees. They have been known to lead to new and as yet quite empty 

 bees' nests, merely attracted by the flying insects. 



It might be argued that in those cases in which the same bird has 

 been known to lead a person to more than one bees' nest in succession 

 would indicate that the sight or sound of the bees did not serve to 

 bring the guiding behavior to a stop. However, in these cases there 

 seems always to have been a definite break, or cessation, of the 

 guiding at each of the bees' nests. It appears that it was only after 



