314 LEAVES FROM THE 



Even among the molluscous animals we have the asso- 

 ciation of the pinna and the crab. 



The rhinoceros birds were just as attentive to their 

 charge as the guard which deprived Mr. Curzon of his 

 ' ugly game.' A native had informed Mr. Gumming 

 that a white rhinoceros was lying asleep in thick cover, 

 and he accompanied his guide to the spot. The rhino- 

 ceros was lying asleep beneath a shady tree, and his 

 appearance reminded Mr. Gumming of an enormous hog. 

 The beast kept constantly flapping his ears, which, he 

 says, rhinoceroses invariably do when sleeping. But 

 before he could reach the proper distance to fire, several 

 rhinoceros birds by which he was attended warned him 

 of his impending danger, by sticking their bills into his 

 ear, and uttering their harsh grating cry. Thus aroused, 

 he suddenly sprang to his feet, crashed away through the 

 jungle at a rapid rate, and Mr. Gumming saw him no more. 



But it appears that it is not to the rhinoceros alone 

 that these guardians do good service. 



These rhinoceros-birds (continues our mighty hunter) are con- 

 stant attendants upon the hippopotamus and the four varieties of 

 rhinoceros, their object being to feed upon the ticks and other 

 parasitic insects that swarm upon these animals. They are of a 

 greyish colour, and are nearly as large as a common thrush ; their 

 voice is very similar to that of the mistletoe-thrush. Many a time 

 have these ever-watchful birds disappointed me in my stalk, and 

 tempted me to invoke an anathema on their devoted heads. They 

 are the best friends the rhinoceros has, and rarely fail to awaken 

 him, even in his soundest nap. ' Chuckiu-oo' perfectly under- 

 stands their warning, and, springing to his feet, he generally looks 

 about him in every direction, after which he invariably makes off. 

 I have often hunted a rhinoceros on horseback, which led me a 

 chase of many miles, and required a number of shots before he 

 fell, during which chase several of these birds remained by the 

 rhinoceros to the last. They reminded me of mariners on the 

 deck of some bark sailing on the ocean, for they perched along 

 his back and sides ; and as each of my bullets told on the shoulder 

 of the rhinoceros they ascended about six feet into the air, uttering 

 their harsh cry of alarm, and then resumed their position. It 

 sometimes happened that the lower branches of trees, under which 

 the rhinoceros passed, swept them from their living deck, but they 



