THE HONEY-GUIDES 219 



tion with a little fluttering of the wings without actually releasing 

 its foothold at all. Once it was seen to do four such rotations in 

 succession. 



Enemies: Although no one seems to have recorded finding remains 

 of this species in the gizzard of any bird of prey, I was told once of a 

 pursuit of one of these honey-guides by a lizard buzzard (Kaupifalco 

 monograminicus) in Natal, but the outcome of this incident was not 

 observed. 



Ranger once found a lesser honey-guide that had been stung to 

 death by bees. The bird was in a trap near the bees' nest. Ranger 

 recovered over 60 stings from the bird, chiefly from the head and neck. 



Description 



Indicator minor minor 



Adult male: Forehead, crown, occiput, and nape citrine drab to 

 grayish olive, a subocular line from the posterior end of the eye to the 

 sides of the base of the culmen white; interscapulars and feathers of 

 upper back deep olive to dark grayish olive, edged with light j^ellowish 

 olive, upper wing-coverts, scapulars, and remiges dark grayish olive to 

 chaetura drab, edged with olive-ochre to aniline yellow, the external 

 margins of this color on the secondaries, greater, and median upper 

 wing-coverts very broad, those on the primaries and the lesser upper 

 wing-coverts narrower; remiges internally edged (not terminally) with 

 whitish; feathers of back, lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts 

 dusky chaetura drab broadly edged and, more narrowly, tipped with 

 olive-ochre to aniline yellow; median two pairs of rectrices fuscous 

 black, internally edged with grajrish, and externally very narrowly 

 edged with aniline yellow; the next pair blackish basally (for a longer 

 distance on the inner than on the outer web), then largely white, but 

 broadly tipped with dark olive brown; the outer three pairs white 

 tipped broadly with dark olive brown, this color extending backwards 

 along the outer edge of the feathers for a short distance; cheek and 

 auriculars light grayish olive, a malar band, from the corner of the 

 mouth backwards diagonally, of dark grayish olive; chin and upper 

 throat pale olive gray deepening quickly to deep olive gray on lower 

 tlu-oat; breast and sides grayish olive; sides and flanks similar but 

 paler; middle of abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts white with a 

 pale grayish creamy wash; under wing-coverts whitish washed with 

 pale grayish cream; iris very dark brown; skin around eyes gray; feet 

 pale olive gray; bill black, the extreme basal portion narrowly pinkish 

 white. Measurements in millimeters: wing 88-95; tail 53.5-G5.5, 

 culmen from base 10.5-11.8, tarsus 11.5-13.5. Weight, 24.5 grams. 



Adult female: Similar to the male but smaller, and with the 

 subocular line to the laterobasal end of the culmen less clear whitish, 



