THE HONEY-GUIDES 207 



4th day: Both chicks were still present. The young honey-guide 

 measured 57 mm. from tip of bill to tip of rump (the barbet only 46 

 mm.); the maxillary hook 1.25 mm. long, the mandibular one .75 

 mm. ; the width of the fully extended gape from end of premaxilla to 

 the end of mandible 14 mm.; length of mouth or gape 7.5 mm. 



5th day: The barbet nestling was dead, reduced to an emaciated 

 mass. It had been dead apparently for some hours as the collapsed 

 abdomen was becoming green. The young honey-guide was thriving, 

 the hooks appeared longer than before, the nostrils becoming distinctly 

 tubular. The eyes began to show some blue through the sealed lids. 

 The remiges Vv^ere indicated by blue marks under the skin, and the 

 rectrices as points. When placed in the hand the bird did bite against 

 the fingers but was less active in this reaction than previously. The 

 large abdomen rendered the bird awkward, but it could assume a 

 balanced position with the aid of its legs, the two legs and the abdomen 

 forming a tripod of sorts. 



6th day: The barbet nestling's body was gone. The young honey- 

 guide was now developing a more distinct beak; the hooks appeared 

 to be longer than originally, and in the closed bill the maxillary hook 

 projected just below the lower surface of the end of the mandible. 

 Due to the fact that the tomial edge of the maxilla was becoming 

 straighter, the closed bill showed little of its original terminal gap. 

 No feather sheaths were protruding as yet. When held in the hand 

 the bird showed no inclination to bite the fingers. Its voice was a 

 weak, wheezy whistle as in the beginning. The fact that the dead 

 body of the barbet nestling was removed (probably by the adult 

 barbets) by the sixth day is in keeping with what Skead noted in his 

 account. In the nest he watched three eggs of the host and one of 

 the honey-guide all hatched within 12 to 24 hours, but by the time 

 the latter was a week old the three young barbets had disappeared. 



9th day: The tubular nostrils were assuming a forward projection; 

 there was no change in bill color or in the body color except that the 

 back was becoming pinkish. The feather sheaths of the main body 

 tracts were out except on mantle, crown, and chin and were dark from 

 upper neck to lower breast, the latero ventral areas pale yellow or cream; 

 flanks also out. [It may be remarked that in Skead's published data 

 the bird was still devoid of plumage on its 12th day and it was not 

 until the 13th day that the quills began to appear through the skin. 

 With only two "case histories" available it is difficult to account for 

 this discrepancy. The divergence appears to be too great for what is 

 considered a "normal" variability in developmental rate.] 



10th day: The groove between the eyelids was deepening, suggest- 

 ing that the lids would part soon. Length of nestling with neck 

 stretched, 3.3 inches; reposed, 2.75 inches. 



