152 INDICATORID^ INDICATOE 



southern part of the Colony and from Zululand, and has not yet 

 been met with, so far as I am aware, in the Transvaal or Ehodesia. 



Beyond our limits it is spread over Nyasaland and German east 

 Africa, ranging as far north as Mombasa. 



The following are South African localities : Cape Colony — 

 George (H. Atmore), Knysna (Victorin, Layard and Marais), 

 Beaufort West (T. C. Atmore), Uitenhage (Ivy) ; Natal— Echowe 

 (Woodward). 



Habits.— Little has been noticed about the habits of this Honey 

 Guide ; Layard found it flitting from bush to bush through the forest 

 while the Woodwards often noticed it sitting motionless on the 

 branch of a large fig-tree giving vent to a monotonous frog-hke 

 croak. 



Mr. Ivy writes that once when encamped near the Zwartkop 

 river in the Uitenhage division, one of these birds came up to the 

 camp and on six different occasions led him up to bees' nests either 

 in trees or rocks ; he continues : " The Honey Bird would perch on 

 some tree and commence calling ' cha, cha, cha,' to attract our 

 attention, we then followed, all the while talking to the guide, as 

 I was assured that if we did not keep up the conversation the bird 

 would leave us, so we followed answering in such tones as pretty 

 Jennie, good bird, we are here. When the bird came to the hive it 

 would not go close to the bees, but would fly round at some distance 

 leaving us to search for the nest, which we easily found by the 

 passing bees. There were two adult and three young birds, but 

 only one adult would lead us. 



Mr. Marais of Knysna, found only l)ees'-wax and no insects in 

 the stomachs of birds examined by him. 



447. Indicator minor. Lesser Honey Guide. ^ 



Le Petit ludicateur, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. v, p. 137, pi. 242 (1806). 



Indicator minor, Stephens, Genl. Zool. ix, p. 140 ; Grill, K. Vet. Al-ad 

 Handl. ii, no. 10, p. 44 (1858) [Knysna] ; Giirney, Ibis, 1859, p. 247 

 1860, p. 205 [Natal] ; Kirk, Ibis, 1864, p. 327 ; Layard, B. S. Afr 

 p. 243 (1867) ; Gurney in Andersson's B. Damaraland, p. 223 

 (1872) ; Sharpe, ed. Layard's B. S. Afr. pp. 169, 811 (1876-84) 

 Shelley, Cat. B. M. xix, p. 9 (1891) ; id. B. Afr. i, p. 125 (1896) 

 Sharjpe, Ibis, 1897, p. 500 [Zulnland] ; Woodward Bros. Natal B 

 p. 108 (1899) ; Sharpe,Ibis, 1900, p. 114 [Beira dist.] , Marshall, ibid 

 p. 251 [Salisbury dist.] ; Ivy, Ibis, 1901, p. 21 [Uitenhage dist.] 



" Honig-vogel " of Dutch Colonists, a name also applied to the other 

 species. 



