Chap. XIII. 
BIKDS—A GOOD OMEN. 
239 
Wa-wa-wa,” and tlie piping of tlie fisli-liawk, are sounds wliicli 
can never be forgotten by any one who has sailed on the rivers 
north of 20° south. If we step on shore, the Charadrius carun- 
cula, a species of plover, a most plaguy sort of “public-spirited 
individual,” follows you, flying overhead, and is most perse¬ 
vering in its attempts to give fair warning to all the animals 
within hearing, to flee from the approaching danger. The 
alarm-note, “ tinc-tinc-tinc,” of anotlier variety of the same 
family {Pluvianus armatus of Burchell) has so much of a me¬ 
tallic ring, that this bird is called “ setula-tsipi,” or hammering- 
iron. It is furnished with a sharp spur on its shoulder, much 
like that on the heel of a cock, but scarcely half an inch in 
length. Conscious of power, it may be seen chasing the white¬ 
necked raven with great fury, and making even that compara¬ 
tively large bird call out from fear. It is this bird v.hich is 
famed for its friendship with the crocodile of the Nile by the 
name sihsak, and which Mr. St. John actually saw performing 
the part of toothpicker to the ugly reptile. They are frequently 
seen on the same sandbanks with the alligator, and, to one 
passing by, often appear as if on that reptile’s back; but I never 
had the good fortune to witness the operation described not only 
by St. John and Geoffrey St. Hilaire, but also by Herodotus. 
However, that which none of these authors knew, my head 
boatman, Mashauana, stopped the canoe to tell us, namely, 
that a water-turtle which, in trying to ascend a steep bank 
to lay her eggs, had toppled on her back, thus enabling us 
to capture her, was an infallible omen of good luck for om^ 
journey. 
Among the forest trees which line the banks of the rocky 
parts of the Leeambye, several new birds were observed. Some 
are musical, and the songs are j)leasant in contrast with the 
harsh voice of the little green, yellow-shouldered parrots of the 
country. There are also great numbers of jet-black weavers, 
with yeUowish-brown band on the shoulders. 
Here we saw, for the first time, a pretty little bird, coloured 
dark blue, except the wings and tail, which were of a cho¬ 
colate hue. From the tail two feathers are prolonged beyond 
the rest six inches. Also, little birds coloured white and black, 
of great vivacity, and always in companies of six or eight 
