746 Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 



any game that might present itself. A bird settled on a tree 

 in front and began to chatter volubly. The Somalis with me 

 explained it was ' Morris,' the Honey-bird, with tales of 

 whose wonderful doings they had often regaled me. The 

 bird seemed to be of about the same size as a thrush, with a 

 grey breast and yellow beak and long tail. We followed it 

 as it fluttered from bush to bush, and if we halted even for 

 a minute, it came back urging us to move on. The Somalis 

 kept whistling and talking to the bird, which seemed to 

 make it more talkative than ever. At last it stopped and 

 would lead us no further. The men began to search in the 

 jungle to see if it was a lion it was taking us to, for the 

 •' Morris ' is just as likely to do so as to show you honey ; 

 but there were no signs of any dangerous animals. On 

 examining the trunks of the trees near by, I found a tiny 

 crevice in the stem of a dead tnmk, out of which exuded 

 some moisture, which, on being tasted^ was found to be 

 honey. To avoid the attacks of the bees a fire was first lit, 

 in the smoke of which the men could take refuge, and then, 

 the shikari, climbing up the stem a few yards, discovered a 

 large hollow running down the length of the trunk. We 

 immediately set to work with our hunting-knives, and cut 

 out the front of the tree sufficiently to allow a man to reach 

 down the hollow, whence he pulled out four long pieces of 

 excellent comb-honey. The bees, curiously enough, did not 

 attempt to molest the thief. The Honey-bird sat by all 

 the time, eagerly watching our doings, and when we left we 

 placed a piece of the spoil on a branch of a tree, which 

 ' Morris' at once attacked greedily, and we left him there. '^ 



Nesting-habits of Hornbills. — At Axum (Abyssinia) a pair 

 of the Scarlet-beaked Hornbills ^ had their nest in a hollow 

 tree in the garden of the house I inhabited. When I arrived 

 the female had already been plastered up in her nest by the 

 male, who used to feed her daily. Before I left the mud had 

 been removed, and the mother and two young ones Avere 

 perched on a neighbouring branch, the young not fully 

 * Probably Lopliocei'os erythrorlxynchus (Teium.). 



