CURIOUS MESSMATES 81 



for the purpose of leaving their cards in a friendly 

 fashion, but rather to satisfy the cravings of their 

 appetites. 



There are several species of birds which associate 

 with quadrupeds for the purpose of feeding upon 

 the ticks, etc., that are to be found upon their 

 bodies, and in this country it is by no means 

 uncommon to see starlings thus employed when 

 perching upon the backs of sheep. With the 

 Egyptian black-backed courser or crocodile-bird, 

 belonging to the plover family, we have a species 

 which, even in the days of Herodotus, was looked 

 upon as the crocodile's friend on account of it 

 always being found in the company of that reptile, 

 and because it has the curious habit of feeding 

 upon the leeches and remnants of food obtained 

 from the open mouth of the creature as it lies bask- 

 ing in the sunshine upon the banks of the river Nile. 

 When searching for these tit-bits, the ' feathered 

 toothpicks ' — which may be compared in size to a 

 thrush, are decorated with lavender, buff, black 

 and white plumage, and possess bright blue legs — 

 even become so bold as to enter right inside the 

 gaping jaws of their provender providers. 



In Florida is found a species of frog, known as 

 the gopher frog {Rana capita), which passes its 

 existence, except for a brief period during the 

 breeding season, within the burrows of the gopher 

 tortoises {Testudo polyphemus) ; while, moreover, 

 the abandoned homes of the latter creatures are 

 frequently utilised as a dwelling-place by racoons, 

 opossums, and owls. Then, again, the platypus 



