NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 
and fluttering almost within reach, the ratel would 
be induced to follow it up in the hope of securing 
the bird, and would thus unconsciously be led to a 
hive of bees. The ratel is one of the most inquisitive 
of animals, and curiosity alone would prompt it 
to follow up a chattering, fluttering Honey Guide 
bird. Once having followed one of these birds 
and having found a beehive, the ratel would not be 
’ slow in connecting the two; the next time a bird 
demonstrated before it the ratel would follow it 
with the greatest of eagerness. The habit would 
be learned by the ratel’s progeny, and from genera- 
tion to generation the instinct to follow the Honey 
Guide would deepen. 
Major J. Stevenson-Hamilton, in his interesting 
book, Animal Life in Africa, gives the following, 
and apparently convincing account of the ratel 
being led to beehives by Honey Guide birds :— 
“You may be resting in the bush in the cool of 
the afternoon, or on some cloudy day, when your 
attention is arrested by the persistent and approach- 
ing chatter of one of these feathered spies. Presently 
the bird itself comes fluttering on to a branch some 
thirty yards distant, where it perches, flapping its 
wings, and displaying every sign of impatience. 
For a moment it is silent, and then a less familiar 
sound strikes the ear: a light sibilant hissing and 
chuckling, which at first you find yourself unable 
to identify: ‘Kru-tshee, krut-shee-clk, clk, clk, 
whee-tshee-tse, tse-whi-o-o ’ (it is almost impossible 
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