94 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
on to creatures incapable of dislodging them that they become so 
loathsome. I have often seen them attached to the hind legs of 
cattle, where they remain and gradually distend with blood until 
they hang down like red sausages. 
As far as dry land was concerned, one had to be very wary of 
certain areas in which minute red ticks swarmed in millions on 
the long grass. Sometimes my trousers became red with them, 
though individually they are only the size of a pin’s head. They 
burrow into the flesh and, being so small, are difficult to find in 
certain parts of the anatomy. If not removed shortly after attach- 
ing themselves, nasty irritating spots which itched for days re- 
sulted, and when these were numerous the irritation was unbear- 
able, sometimes giving rise to fever. 
Having often, on previous expeditions, seen birds “mobbing” a 
snake, I got the idea of using a live one as a means of luring birds 
to my nets, so one day I suspended a specimen from a branch by a 
piece of cord. Its writhing soon attracted a few birds, but before 
things had really had time to get going the snake wriggled itself 
free, and not relishing the idea of juggling with a poisonous snake 
every time it got loose, I gave up the attempt. The experience, 
however, was not wasted, for on this expedition I applied the same 
principle in another way. 
While at home I had managed to obtain a stuffed owl, complete 
with large yellow eyes. Birds will, of course, mob an owl in much 
the same way as they do a snake. Although doubtful whether a 
stuffed specimen would act like the real thing, I was determined 
to give it a trial. For this I chose a large tree with long spreading 
branches, and high up in the gaps between them I set a number 
of small flue nets. Next a springy sapling was secured, and the 
stuffed owl attached to it near one end. This springy stick was 
fixed so that it jutted out horizontally from the trunk, but lower 
down than the nets, as the tendency is for birds to gather in a 
circle above the object of curiosity, so that they are looking down 
on it. The owl was at the end of the stick away from the tree 
trunk, and to this end was fixed some black thread, which led to 
my hiding-place not far off. A gentle tug on the thread was sufh- 
cient to set the owl dancing up and down on its springy perch. 
The main idea of all this was to catch some of the sunbirds 
