BEHEMOTH AND THE UNICORN. 599 



to his feet, he generally first looks about him in every direc- 

 tion, 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 always recovered 

 their former station ; they also adhere to the rhinoceros 

 during the night. I have often shot these animals at mid- 

 night, when drinking at the fountains, and the birds, imagining 

 they were asleep, remained with them till morning, and on 

 my approaching, before taking flight, they exerted them 

 selves to their utmost to awaken Chukuroo from his deep 

 sleep. 



This account of the bird guardians of the rhinoceros, 

 though apparently extravagant, is not without many corres- 

 pondencies throughout the natural world. We have among 

 us a familiar instance in the habits of the cow-pen bird. 

 Audubon says, concerning it : 



This species derives its name from the circumstance of its 

 frequenting cow-pens. In this respect it greatly resembles 

 the European starling. Like that bird it follows the cattle 

 in the fields, often alights on their backs, and may be seen 

 diligently searching for worms and larvae among their dung. 

 In spring, the cattle in many parts of the United States are 

 much infested with intestinal worms, which they pass in great 

 quantities, and on these the cow-bird frequently makes a 

 delicious repast. 



Of the abundance of the rhinoceros in the upper part of 



I 



