i5° 



THE BIRDS OF ETHIOPIAN AFRICA 





where they wait patiently until the contents are exposed, when they obtain a share. 

 Occasionally these birds lead the way to nests barren of honey. 



These birds are also parasitic in the matter of egg-laying. According to a recent 

 account, the widely distributed African yellow-throated honey-guide {Indicator 

 major) in most cases makes use of the nesting-hole of Spreo bicolor, a bird which, 

 like the honey-guides themselves, lays white eggs. The honey-guide's eggs are, 



,■) however, less elon- 



gated than those 

 of its hosts, among 

 which are certain 

 species of swallows, 

 as well as other 

 birds laying white 

 eggs. Whether the 

 honey -guides lay 

 more than one egg 

 in the spreo's nest 

 is not mentioned, 

 but it is stated 

 that these birds 

 whenever possible 

 break the eggs of 

 their hosts with 

 their beaks, thus 

 ensuring that their 

 own egg or eggs 

 shall alone hatch. 

 The most remark- 

 able point con- 

 nected with this 

 egg-breaking busi- 

 ness is that the 

 spreos or other 

 hosts should con- 

 tinue to sit. Their 

 parasitic habits 

 being apparently 

 well known, the 

 honey-guides are in 

 most cases fiercely 



attacked by the owners of the nests visited, and in some cases the resistance 

 prevents the intruders from breaking the original eggs. In such instances the 

 young honey-guides probably eject their fellow nestlings, and it is noteworthy 

 that the beaks of the former are furnished with powerful hooks, which disappear 

 in the adult. This, it is conjectured, is a provision to assist them in ejecting the 

 other occupants of the nest. It has also been noticed that a young honey-guide 



/ 



SPARRMANN S HONEY-GUIDE. 



