312 LEAVES FROM THE 



Africa, who declares that he saw on the banks of islands 

 in the middle of the Nile crocodiles sunning themselves, 

 and birds, about the size of a thrush, flitting about them ; 

 but after a short space the birds flew away. His inqui- 

 ries were answered by a statement, that portions of the 

 fishes and other animals on which the crocodile feeds 

 stick about his teeth and breed worms, to his great tor- 

 ment. The birds, perceiving the worms when the croco- 

 dile gapes, come to feed upon them. But the crocodile, 

 as soon as he finds that all the worms are eaten up, 

 closes his mouth, and attempts to swallow the bird that 

 has entered, but, being wounded by the sharp spine with 

 which the head of the bird is armed, gapes again and 

 sets the winged prisoner free. 



The narrative of Herodotus has received corroboration 

 from the pen of the accomplished author of Visits to 

 Monasteries in the Levant^ 



I will relate (says Mr. Curzon, in that amusing and interesting 

 book) a fact in natural history which I was fortunate enough to 

 witness, and which, although it is mentioned so long ago as the 

 times of Herodotus, has not, I believe, been often observed since ; 

 indeed, I have never met with any traveller who has himself seen 

 such an occmTcnce. 



I had ahvays a strong predilection for crocodile-shooting, and 

 had destroyed several of these dragons of the waters. On one 

 occasion I saw a long way off a large one, twelve or fifteen feet 

 long, lying asleep under a perpendicular bank, about ten feet 

 high, on the margin of the river. I stopped the boat at some 

 distance ; and noting the place as well as I could, I took a circuit 

 nland, and came down cautiously to the top of the bank, whence 

 with a heavy rifle I made sure of my ugly game. I had already 

 cut off his head in my imagination, and was considering whether 

 it should be stuffed with its mouth open or shut. I peeped over 

 the bank : there he was within ten feet of the sight of the rifle. 

 I was on the point of firing at his eye, when I observed that he 

 was attended by a bird called a zic-zac. It is of the plover species, 

 of a greyish colour, and as large as a small pigeon. 



The bird was walking up and down close to the crocodile's nose. 



London : John Murray. 1849. 



