18 STUBNID^E BUPHAGA 



845 (1884) ; id. Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 195 (1890) ; Millais, A Breath 

 from the Veldt, p. 65, 5 Illustrations (1895) ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, 

 p. 41 (1896). 



" Tick Bird" and " Ehinoceros Bird " of English Colonists. 



" Bhinaster Vogel " of the Dutch. 



" Umblanda " of the Matabilis. 



Description. Adult male. Above, crown and upper surface of 

 body brown, fading into buff-yellow on the rump and upper tail- 

 coverts ; wing-coverts like the back ; quills and tail-feathers dark 

 brown, the latter tinged with rufous on their inner webs ; sides of 

 face and neck brown, merging into buff-brown on the breast, and 

 buff-yellow on the lower breast, abdomen and lower tail coverts ; 

 a patch of buff-red on the flanks ; thighs brown ; axillaries, under 

 wing-coverts, and under surface of quills, dark brown. 



Iris orange or red ; in a specimen obtained by Andersson greyish- 

 green ; base of bill yellow, the terminal half red ; feet dusky. 



Length 8-40; wing 4-90 ; tail 4-00; tarsus 0-90; culmenOTO. 



Adult female. Similar to the male in plumage. 



Distribution. The Ethiopian Region, excluding the forest 

 districts of the West coast, Cape Colony, and the coast of Natal. 

 It occurs sparingly in Upper Natal, but becomes more abundant in 

 Zululand and to the northward, being fairly numerous in the 

 Transvaal and thence to the Zambesi. If occurs also at Lake 

 N'Gami, in Damara Land and in Benguela. 



Habits. This species is not so common near the coast of Natal 

 and East Africa as the Red-billed Ox-pecker, and appears to 

 follow the larger game in their retreat before civilised man. It 

 more particularly favours the buffalo and rhinoceros with its 

 company, and the majority of " big-game " hunters have noticed 

 this partiality. Mr. Andersson remarks in his " Lake N'gami " 

 that this bird "is also a frequent companion of the rhinoceros, to 

 which, besides being of service in ridding him of many of the 

 insects that infest his hide, it performs the important part of 

 sentinel. On many occasions has this watchful bird prevented me 

 from getting a shot at that beast ; the moment it suspects danger 

 it flies almost perpendicularly up into the air, uttering sharp shrill 

 notes that never fail to attract the attention of the rhinoceros, 

 who, without waiting to ascertain the cause, almost instantly seeks 

 safety in a precipitate flight." 



Mr. Ayres also writes, "This species is a pest to the hunter, of 

 whose approach it warns the buffalo and rhinoceros by its loud 

 harsh note, which is perfectly understood by its huge friends." 



