60 THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 



YOUNG. Naked and helpless, with a hooked tip to 

 both jaws. 



NEST. None, the birds being parasitic and laying in 

 the nests of other species. 



EGGS. White. 



FOOD. Insects, chiefly bees, wasps, and their grubs, 

 honeycomb, and sometimes apparently other small 

 birds. 



GAIT. They are chiefly to be seen on trees ; presumably 

 they hop. 



FLIGHT. Undulating. 



NOTE. A repeated chatter. 



DISPOSITION AND HABITS. Several of the African 

 species are well known from their strange habit of 

 leading men to bees' nests, in order to obtain a share 

 of the comb. They attract attention, and then 

 fly on ahead till the nest is reached ; such an action 

 seems to denote unusual intelligence. They are 

 usually solitary. 



ECONOMIC QUALITIES. They are, of course, regarded 

 as very useful birds on account of the above 

 peculiarity. 



DISTRIBUTION AND IMPORTANT SPECIES. There are 

 only eleven species known, mostly African, but one 

 a rare bird (Indicator xanthonotus) is Indian, 

 and one, /. archipelagicus, Malayan. The best- 

 known species is Sparrman's Honey-guide (Indi- 

 cator indicator), which is widely spread over Africa, 

 and has been long familiar to travellers. This 

 is rather larger than a sparrow, brown, with a 

 yellow patch on each shoulder and a white bill, 

 the male with a black throat, the female with this 

 part white. The commonest species in South 

 Africa is, however, the Lesser Honey-guide (/. 

 minor), smaller, and olive in colour, with a black 

 bill ; in this the sexes are alike. 



