HONEY-GUIDES 271 



male, the latter white in the female ; rest of under-surface 

 dirty white. Length, about 7J inches. 



It is widely spread all over the African Continent, but 

 is nowhere exactly common within our borders. 



It is thoroughly parasitic in its habits ; we have taken 

 its egg from the nest of the White-throated SwaUow (Hirundo 

 alhigularis), and from the nest hole of the Wood Hoopoe 

 {Irrisor viridis). The egg is oval in shape, and pure creamy 

 white in colour (see centre figure, row 3, page 274). 



The Yellow-throated Honey-guide {Indicator major) is 

 olive-brown above, the rump region being white ; ear- 

 coverts black ; throat and breast yellow, the rest of the 

 under-surface being creamy-white. Length, 7 inches. 



This species is also found in most of the Bush and Forest 

 Eegions of South Africa, and is not uncommon in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Grahamstown. Here Mrs. Barber observed it 

 using the nest hole of the Black-collared Barbet. We found 

 an egg in the nest of a Drongo-Shrike in November, 1894. 

 The bird usually — according to our experience — makes use 

 of the nest hole of the Pied Starling. It seems as if the 

 Honey-guides occasionally break the eggs of the foster- 

 parent, to make room for their own. In Fig. 139, row 2, 

 left centre figure, we give an illustration of the smaller egg 

 of the Honey-guide, along with a clutch of Spreo hicohr, two 

 of which are badly smashed. 



The Scaly-throated Honey-guide {Indicator variegatus) 

 has the forehead mottled, rest of head and neck greenish 

 merging into a bright olive on the back ; throat white 

 streaked with black ; breast yellowish mottled with dusky, 

 giving a scaly appearance to this region ; rest of under-parts 

 yellowish- white. Length, 7^ inches. 



It ranges from the south-eastern portion of Cape Colony 



