160 BIRD-PARASITES 



toes, the first and fourth being directed backwards, while 

 the two middle ones are projected forwards ; in their 

 parasitic habits they also resemble the Cuckoos, but differ 

 in several marked structural characteristics. 



The wing is long and pointed, and not as in the 

 Capitonidse, short and rounded. Primaries nine in 

 number, the first one being almost as long as the 

 second. The bill of the adult is of medium length, 

 fairly stout, and with a slightly swollen formation 

 towards the tip. The young bird (fledgling) has a pair 

 of sharp, strong tooth-like hooks welded on to the end 

 of the bill, one on either mandible. These peculiar 

 appendages apparently fall off when the bird is nearly 

 or fully adult, so we presume the use they have is to 

 assist the young Honey-guide to obtain a firm hold of its 

 foster brethren when ejecting them from the nest hole of 

 the rightful owners of the nest. These hooks on the beak 

 of the young bird are in themselves sufficient to relegate 

 the Honey-guides to a family of their own. The nestling 

 Indicator has the swollen nostrils characteristic of the 

 Cuckoo-nestling, but instead of being rounded as in the 

 Cuculidse, they are elongated and oval, being more in 

 the shape of slits. 



The stories told of the honey-guiding instincts of these 

 little birds are innumerable, dating from the days of 

 Sparrman and Livingstone. They feed principally on 

 insects and honey. 



South Africa possesses five species falling under two 

 genera : 



a. Tail of twelve feathers Indicator. 



b. Tail of ten feathers Prodotiscus. 



The White-cheeked Honey-guide (Indicator indicator) 

 is dark-brown above, a golden-yellow patch on the 



