194 HUNTING IN THE SOT1K [ch. yiii 
seen, apparently more timid and less noisy beasts than 
their bigger spotted brothers. 
One day Kermit had our first characteristic experience 
with a honey-bird—a smallish bird, with beak like a 
grosbeak’s and toes like a woodpecker’s—whose extra¬ 
ordinary habits as a honey-guide are known to all the 
natives of Africa throughout its range. Kermit had 
killed an eland bull, and while he was resting his gun- 
bearers drew his attention to the calling of the honey- 
bird in a tree near by. He got up, and as he approached 
the bird it flew to another tree in front and again began 
its twitter. This was repeated again and again as Kermit 
walked after it. Finally the bird darted round behind 
his followers, in the direction from which they had 
come, and for a moment they thought it had played 
them false. But immediately afterward they saw that 
it had merely overshot its mark, and had now flown 
back a few rods to the honey-tree, round which it was 
flitting, occasionally twittering. When they came 
toward the tree it perched silent and motionless in 
another, and thus continued while they took some 
honey — a risky business, as the bees were vicious. 
They did not observe what the bird then did; but 
Cuninghame told me that in one instance where a 
honey-bird led him to honey he carefully watched it 
and saw it picking up either bits of honey and comb, or 
else, more probably, the bee grubs out of the comb—he 
could not be certain which. 
To my mind no more interesting incident occurred 
at this camp. 
