Picking the Crocodile's Teeth.
Am, that Aristofcles tells as about the crocodile is borrowed from Herodotus, with the exception of the number of eggs it ia said to lay, and it is curious to notice that he even tells the story of the little bird (trochilos) which eats the teethes out of the crocodile's mouth — a story long dipcredited, but whioh haB been to a great extent corrobated by Mr. Geoffroy Samt-Hiliare, the eminent French naturalist, who had repeated occasions to ascertain that the story of Herodotus was correct, in substance at least. He found that a little bird, the blaok-headed-plovcr, flies incessantly from place to pl'jco, searching everywhere, even in the crocodile's mouth, for insects, such as gnats, which attack tha great saurian in innumerable swarms and, entering his month, covers the inner surface o? the palate with ft brownish-black crust. The little plover conies and delivers him from his troublesome enemies. — E.lchf)XQ".
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18850613.2.36.1
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2018, 13 June 1885, Page 6 (Supplement)
Word count
Tapeke kupu
154Picking the Crocodile's Teeth. Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2018, 13 June 1885, Page 6 (Supplement)
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in