160 
SPORT AND WAR. 
CHAP. XVIII. 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE HONEY-BIRD. 
There is a small bird in South Africa whose instinct 
and peculiarity appear to be but little known in natu¬ 
ral history; it is called the Honey-bird, and is about 
the size of an English water-wagtail. 
When hunters approach any forest, wood, or ravine 
this bird invariably makes its appearance, and com¬ 
mences chirping, or 4 talking,’ as the natives call it. The 
chirp is a cher-r-r , cher-r , repeated over and over again. 
The hunters answer by whistling and making a noise 
from the throat—a sort of hoig , hoig. The bird flutters, 
becomes excited, and flies on from tree to tree, some¬ 
times fifty or a hundred yards at a time. If you are 
slow to follow the bird will come back, meet you, and 
go on again ; in this way it will take you any dis¬ 
tance—it may be a hundred yards, a mile, or even 
more, but it leads you direct to the bees’ nest, or wild 
beehive, which is generally found in the trunk of 
hollow trees. 
