CROCODILE BIRDS 
These birds are variously called black-backed coursers, black-headed 
plovers or crocodile birds. 
They were first introduced to incredulous Europeans by Herodotus, 
the historian and naturalist, who wrote: 
“As the Crocodile lives chiefly on the river, it has the inside of its 
mouth constantly covered with leeches; hence it happens that, while all the 
other birds and beasts avoid it, with the trochilos (Crocodile Bird) it lives 
at peace, since it owes much to that 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; and at such times the trochilos 
goes into his mouth and devours the leeches. This benefits the crocodile, 
who is pleased, and takes care not to hurt the trochilos ” 
Strange as this tale may seem, it has been corroborated in the main 
by several modern travellers, who describe the plover as picking the croco¬ 
dile’s teeth and parading on its broad back as if it were a lawn. At the 
approach of an enemy, the bird, who has sharper eyes than the crocodile, 
takes flight, thus warning the crocodile of the danger. 
These curious African birds can be seen in small groups in swamps, 
on sandbanks, or even on cultivated land, but never far from water. They 
skim over the river in swift flight, constantly uttering their monotonous cry, 
described by explorers as harsh and irritating. The Arabs call this bird 
zic-zac from the sound of its cry. In color the zic-zac is slaty brown above, 
with mantle and crown of greenish-black, bordered with white. Its food 
consists of beetles, water flies, grasshoppers, insect larvae, and occasionally 
seeds. 
The crocodile birds breed in April and May. The mother bird usually 
lays two, sometimes three eggs which she buries in the sand and then sits 
upon. Neither in coming nor in going does she disturb the sand or make 
any mark in it to indicate the presence of her eggs. She sits over them 
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