AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



parently they were disregarded by their sluggish and deadly 

 host. Heller trapped some jackals, of two species; and two 

 striped hyenas, the first we had seen; apparently more timid 

 and less noisy beasts than their bigger spotted brothers. 



One day Kermit had our first characteristic experience 

 with a honey bird; a smallish bird, with its beak like a gros- 

 beak's and its toes like a woodpecker's, whose extraordinary 

 habits as a honey-guide are known to all the natives of Africa 

 throughout its range. Kermit had killed an eland bull, and 

 while he was resting, his gun-bearers drew his attention to 

 the calling of the honey bird in a tree near by. He got up, 

 and as he approached the bird, it flew to another tree in front 

 and again began its twitter. This was repeated again and 

 again as Kermit walked after it. Finally the bird darted 

 round behind his followers, in the direction from which they 

 had come; and for a moment they thought it had played them 

 false. But immediately afterward they saw that it had merely 

 overshot its mark, and had now flown back a few rods to 

 the honey-tree, round which it was flitting, occasionally 

 twittering. When they came toward the tree it perched 

 silent and motionless in another, and thus continued while 

 they took some honey a risky business, as the bees were 

 vicious. They did not observe what the bird then did; 

 but Cuninghame told me that in one instance where a 

 honey bird led him to honey he carefully watched it and 

 saw it picking up either bits of honey and comb, or else, 

 more probably, the bee grubs out of the comb, he could 

 not be certain which. 



To my mind no more interesting incident occurred at 

 this camp. 



