THE HONEY-GUIDES 148 



Two records, one not absolutely certain as to the identification of 

 the parasite. 



A. W. Vincent (1946, pp. 307-308) found a nest near Elisabeth- 

 vUle, Belgian Congo, on October 2 containing three eggs of the bee- 

 eater and one that probably was a greater honey-guide's. The para- 

 sitic egg was more elongated, less rounded, than those of the host, 

 24.1 by 18.3 mm, as compared with 20.4 by 18 mm. At Dedza, 

 Nyasaland, in December 1951, Benson found a nest of this bee-eater 

 containing one young greater honey-guide almost ready to fly and 

 five punctured eggs of the host. 



Upupa qfricana Bechstein. African hoopoe. 



Upupa africana Bechstein, Kurze Uebersicht . . . , vol, 4, p. 172, 1811. 

 (Congo to the Cape.) 



Recorded as a host of the greater honey-guide in South Africa, 

 Southern Rhodesia, and Kenya Colony. The actual cases known to 

 me are as follows. 



The Attwoods (1945, p. 209) found a fledged chick of this honey- 

 guide being cared for and fed by hoopoes in a garden at Johannesburg. 

 Mr. K. F. Gibbs, of Hdl Crest, Natal, in a personal communication, 

 mentions knowing of an instance of the African hoopoe being victim- 

 ized by a greater honey-guide. Wliether this is the same case as the 

 above or is still another record I cannot say. 



Gdges (1939) found in a termite mound near Johannesburg a nest 

 of the hoopoe containing a completely unfeathered young honey- 

 guide, the shrivelled remains of a dead nestling, and three eggs of the 

 hoopoe. The honey-guide, being as yet unfeathered, could not posi- 

 tively be identified as to species and is listed merely as a "honey- 

 guide"; it had sharp curved hooks on both the maxilla and the mandi- 

 ble. It must be looked upon as included here on uncertain grounds, 

 chiefly because I. indicator is the only species of honey-guide known 

 to parasitize the African hoopoe. 



In the Oologists' Record (September 1949, p. 45) is an anonymous 

 note telling of the receipt of a set of two eggs of the African hoopoe 

 with one of the greater honey-guide, unfortunately with no indication 

 of date or locality. The eggs were laid in a natural hole in the ground 

 and the host's eggs had holes pecked in them. 



In Southern Rhodesia, Neuby-Varty tells me he has yet to find a 

 nest of this bird that is not parasitized by the greater honey-guide. 

 Data on four nests, all from the Marandellas area, kindly supplied 

 by him, are as follows. 



Set 1: Early October 1948, nest in hole in the side of a termite 

 mound contained one egg of the parasite and four of the host, all of 

 the latter pecked. 



