KATOOTERO AND HIS HONEYBIRD 



allotted to each family. No family would think of tres- 

 passing on another's honey preserve. They prefer the 

 honey in the comb, while the unhatched grubs at a cer- 

 tain stage of incubation are considered a great delicacy. 



These forest folk live so close to nature that they make 

 even the birds their allies. I have seen a honey bird lead 

 a hunter to a hollow tree in which there is honey ready 

 to be taken. It was fascinating to watch one of these 

 little birds trying to get the attention of Katootero, the 

 lad who used to hunt with me sometimes. We had been 

 out for a hunt in the early morning and he was now 

 resting, and I was taking this opportunity of discussing 

 the prospect of an expedition that I was planning. Pres- 

 ently one of these tiny honey birds came up close to 

 him and perched on the bough of a nearby tree, and 

 started chirping noisily. He told me that this was one of 

 his honey birds that was anxious to show him some hollow 

 tree with honey for the taking. 



To me it seemed perfectly ridiculous that this tiny 

 bird should make such a fuss and be so insistent on Ka- 

 tootero following him. I later discovered that the honey 

 birds know well to whom to go, for it is the unwritten 

 law of the forest that each dweller has his own territory. 

 Now that the honey bird had got the lad's attention, it 

 flitted from bough to bough in the direction of the hol- 

 low tree, returning every now and again and perching 

 quite close to the lad as if to make quite sure that he was 

 following. 



On leaving camp Katootero had picked up a piece of 



69 



