112 BULLETIN 2 08, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



to tell variegatus from indicator, and tho native's testimony might 

 therefore be questioned, but it is suggestive and is not out of line 

 with what might be expected. 



GUI (1945, p. 92) writes that variegatus guides to bees' nests like 

 /. indicator, but this statement is based solely on earlier statements 

 in the literature. 



Additional observations would be most desirable, as there might 

 well be observable differences between the guiding behavior in this 

 species and /. indicator, differences which might be very suggestive 

 in arriving at a better understanding of the habit. 



The details given in the discussion of the whistle-call of the present 

 species afford material of further interest in connection with the 

 behavior known as guiding, and should be consulted in this connection. 



Food and Feeding Habits 



Adult: The food of the scaly-throated honey-guide is similar 

 to that of Indicator indicator and I. minor and consists of insects, 

 beeswax, bee larvae, and the pollen and honey found in the bee comb. 

 Near Kei Road, eastern Cape Province, Ranger has seen all three of 

 these birds come to a wild bees' nest in a hollow branch of a tree and 

 apparently feed there. He saw the present species go into the bees' 

 nest and come out again, but could only assume that it was feeding 

 while inside, an assumption that is rendered probable by the fact that 

 he saw /. indicator enter and leave repeatedly, and was able to see 

 that it did emerge with a piece of straw-colored comb in its bill. In 

 the Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory, Moreau (Sclater 

 and Moreau, 1932, p. 665) saw I. variegatus "apparently feeding on 

 wild figs. Actually it must have been in search of the insects they 

 harboured, for several stomachs examined contained caterpillars, 

 grubs, and ants, in addition to the remains of bee-combs and larvae, 

 but no vegetable material." 



Other observations may be cited. Meinertzhagen (1937, p. 745) 

 reports that the stomach contents of specimens taken in Kenya Colony 

 consisted of various insects, mainly Hymenoptera; there was no sign 

 of wax or honey in the three specimens he examined. Also in Kenya 

 Colony, Williams (in litt.) found the gizzards of his specimens to 

 contain beeswax and insect remains, as did Swynnerton (1907, p. 290) 

 in Gazaland, Southern Rhodesia. The latter observer trapped a 

 male /. variegatus at Chirinda with a falling stone baited with a piece 

 of guava. He supposed "that Hymenoptera of some kind must 

 have been attracted to the guava, and that the bird, in pursuing 

 them, settled on the twig. The stomach contained only bees-wax." 

 In Nyasaland, Benson (1942, p. 299) found small ants in the gizzard 



