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 larve 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 
