INTRODUCTION, 129 
gryphus) may still serve as a type, though it may ere long 
become extinct. The handsome King Vulture (Cathartes papa) 
also belongs to this group. 
A very curious and exceptional predaceous creature is the 
Secretary-bird (Gypogeranus serpentarius) of Africa, which 
has long legs like those of a Crane. It is a renowned Serpent- 
eater. The name of “Secretary” has been applied to it on 
Fig. 159. 


The Secretary-bird ( Gypogeranus serpentarius). 
account of a peculiar growth of feathers hanging from the back 
of the head in such a way as to recall the appearance of pens 
placed behind a man’s ear. 
Owls, unlike Vultures, are found in the coldest as well as in 
the warmest climes, and in the remotest Oceanic islands. There 
are a hundred and fifty-one species of Owls,whereof the Barn Ow] 
(Stria flammea) may serve as atype. Itis the form best known to 
most of us, though it is reallya tropical form, inhabiting, as it does, 
K 
