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The Queensland Naturalist August 1947 
where the Mexicans found their inspiration, and we must 
leave that to the anthropologists. 
From Iierotodus, too, comes the first note on what 
was later regarded as the legend of the crocodile and the 
bird. Speaking of the crocodile, he says: “While all the 
other birds and beasts avoid it, with the troehilus it lives 
at peace, since it owes much to this bird, for the crocodile, 
when he leaves the water and comes out upon the land, is 
in the habit of lying with his mouth wide open, facing the 
western breeze; at such times the troehilus goes into his 
mouth and devours the leeches. This benefits the croco- 
dile, who is pleased and takes care not to hurt the 
troehilus. ” 
Somewhere about the year 1556 one John Leo 
published a book on Africa, in which he too mentions this 
curious friendship, the reason for which was told him as 
follows: “The crocodiles by reason of their continual 
devouring beasts and fishes, have certain pieces of flesh 
sticking fast between their forked teeth, which flesh being 
putrified breedeth a kind of worme wherewith they are 
cruelly tormented, wherefor the said birds flying about 
and seeking wormes. enter into the crocodiles’ jaws to 
satisfy their hunger thereon, but the crocodile, perceiving 
himself freed from the wormes of his teeth, oifereth to 
shut his mouth and to devour the little bird that did him 
so good a turn, but being hindered from his ungrateful 
attempt by a prickle which groweth on the bird’s head, 
he is constrained to open his jaws and to let her depart.” 
Tn 1719 the story is again told by Paul Lucas and he 
repeats the idea of the bird forcing the crocodile to open 
its mouth by thrusting a prickle into the roof of its mouth. 
Wliat these writers mistook for a prickle was obviously 
the crest of the bird, composed of feathers. At the end of 
the nineteenth, century, a Mr. J. M. Cook published in the 
Ibis, an English ornithological journal, an account of his 
observations of crocodiles in Lower Nubia, lie and his 
brother-in-law dug themselves in in a sandbank early one 
morning, and at about noon two large crocodiles came out 
of the water. They went on to the sandbank and to all 
appearances went to sleep. Several of the crocodile birds 
soon began to flit about the sleeping reptiles, and then 
through the field-glasses the observers saw one of the 
birds go deliberately up to a crocodile, apparently 
asleep. The reptile opened its jaws, in went the bird, and 
