The WHITE-BEAKED HONEY GUIDE (_Indicator albirostris_) is greyish brown
on the mantle, and whitish grey on the under side. The throat is black;
the region of the ear undivided, and indicated by a greyish white spot; a
portion of the shoulder-feathers is streaked with black; the quills are
greyish brown, the wing-covers broadly edged with white, and the shoulders
enlivened by a yellow patch; the centre tail-feathers are brown, the next
in order brown on the outer and white on the inner web, whilst those at
the exterior are white tipped with brown. The body is yellowish white,
and the foot brown. The body is six inches and a half in length; the wing
measures four inches and a half, and the tail two inches and a half.
This species, which is met with from Southern Africa to sixteen degrees
north latitude, subsists almost entirely upon wild honey, and has obtained
its name from the fact that it frequently materially assists the natives
in their search for the combs by flying before them and constantly
uttering its sharp, peculiar cry. In the African deserts it is heard
morning and evening, and is eagerly listened for by the natives, who at
once reply to it, and hasten to the spot indicated. No sooner does the
bird perceive that its summons is responded to than it perches upon the
tree that contains the desired hive, and, should its human assistant
not hurry fast enough to satisfy its impatience, flies backwards and
forwards until the exact spot has been plainly pointed out. During the
time occupied by the native in rifling the hive, the Honey Guide remains
perched in the vicinity, waiting for the share of the spoil, which the
grateful Hottentot never fails to grant it. This remarkable habit is of
great service to the poor natives, who regard these birds with especial
favour, and are much incensed if they are wantonly killed. According to
Hartlaub, the female deposits her one glossy white egg upon the bare
ground, and when she has succeeded in finding a strange nest into which it
can be introduced, bears it thither, having previously ejected one of the
owner's eggs in order to make room for her own offspring. Verreaux informs
us that the mother resumes the care of her young in about a month's time,
compelling it to leave its foster-parents.
* * * * *
The CUCKOOS (_Cuculus_) are characterised by a slightly-curved, thin beak,
which is broad at its base, and almost equals the head in length; the long
wings, in which the third quill is longer than the rest, are narrow and
pointed; the long tail, composed of ten feathers, is either wedge-shaped
or rounded at its extremity. The short or moderate-sized feet have the
toes placed in pairs; the thick plumage is very similarly coloured in the
two sexes, but the young differ considerably in appearance from the adult
birds.
The members of this family are spread over the whole of the Eastern
Hemisphere and New Holland, being particularly numerous in Africa and
India, while the more northern portions possess but one species. All,
without exception, are inhabitants of the woods, and rarely leave the
shelter of their favourite trees, except during the period of migration,
or when, as with the more southern species, they are wandering for a short
season over the face of the country. In disposition they are timorous,
restless, and extremely averse to associate with other birds, indeed, they
frequently avoid the society of their own congeners. Their life may be
described as an incessant and noisy search for food, in pursuit of which
they hurry rapidly from tree to tree and place to place. Insects and larvæ
afford them their principal means of subsistence, and hairy caterpillars
(avoided by most other birds) are with them favourite tid-bits--the
hairs from the bodies of these caterpillars adhere to the coats of the
Cuckoo's stomach, and become, as it were, embedded by the process of
digestion. Many also consume small reptiles. Some species prepare suitable
receptacles for their young; but the greater number deposit their eggs in
the nests of other birds.