BUFFALO AND RHINOCEROS BIRDS. 585 



chus, Smith), which act the part of guardian spirits to the animals. 

 When the buffalo is quietly feeding, this bird may be seen hop- 

 ping on the ground picking up food, or sitting on its back ridding 

 it of the insects with which their skins are sometimes infested. 

 The sight of the bird being much more acute than that of the 

 buffalo, it is soon alarmed by the approach of any danger, and, 

 flying up, the buffaloes instantly raise their heads to discover the 

 cause which has led to the sudden flight of their guardian. They 

 sometimes accompany the buffaloes in their flight on the wing, at 

 other times they sit as above described. 



Another African bird, namely, the Buphaga Africana, attends 

 the rhinoceros for a similar purpose. It is called "kala" in the 

 language of the Bechuanas. When these people wish to express 

 their dependence upon another, they address him as "my rhinoc- 

 eros," as if they were the birds. The satellites of a chief go by 

 the same name. This bird can not be said to depend entirely on 

 the insects on that animal, for its hard, hairless skin is a protec- 

 tion against all except a few spotted ticks ; but it seems to be at- 

 tached to the beast, somewhat as the domestic dog is to man ; 

 and while the buffalo is alarmed by the sudden flying up of its 

 sentinel, the rhinoceros, not having keen sight, but an acute ear, is 

 warned by the cry of its associate, the Bujphaga Africana. The 

 rhinoceros feeds by night, and its sentinel is frequently heard in 

 the morning uttering its well-known call, as it searches for its 

 bulky companion. One species of this bird, observed in Angola, 

 possesses a bill of a peculiar scoop or stone forceps form, as if in- 

 tended only to tear off insects from the skin ; and its claws are as 

 sharp as needles, enabling it to hang on to an animal's ear while 

 performing a useful service within it. This sharpness of the claws 

 allows the bird to cling to the nearly insensible cuticle without ir- 

 ritating the nerves of pain on the true skin, exactly as a burr does 

 to the human hand ; but in the case of the Buphaga Africana 

 and erythrorhyncha, other food is partaken of, for we observed 

 flocks of them roosting on the reeds, in spots where neither tame 

 nor wild animals were to be found. 



The most wary animal in a herd is generally the " leader." 

 When it is shot the others often seem at a loss what to do, and 

 stop in a state of bewilderment. I have seen them then attempt to 

 follow each other and appear quite confused, no one knowing for 



