546 
BUFFALO AND RHENOCEKOS BIRDS. Chap. XXVII. 
Smith), wliich 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 sldns 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 bnd, 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 liim as my rhino¬ 
ceros,” as if they were the birds. The satellites of a chief go by 
the same name. This bird cannot be said to depend entirely on 
the insects on that animal, for its hard hairless skm is a protection 
against all except a few spotted ticks; but it seems to be attached 
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 haviug keen sight, but an acute ear, is warned by 
the cry of its associate, the Buphaga Africana. The rhinoceros 
feeds by night, and its sentinel is frequently heard in the morning 
uttering its well-known caU, 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 intended 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, wliile performiug a useful service 
wit hin it. This sharpness of the claws allows the bird to cling to 
the nearly insensible cuticle without irritating the nerves of pain 
on the true skin, exactly as a burr does to the human haud; 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 
