THE SECRETAKY EAGLE. 383 



scanning with sharp and piercing eye the motions of his prey 

 below. Energetic in his movements, impetuous in his appe- 

 tites, he pounces with the velocity of a meteor on the object of 

 his wishes, and with a wild and savage joy tears it to pieces. 

 His whole sense of existence is the procuring of food, and for 

 this he is ever on the alert, ever ready to combat, to ravage, 

 and destroy.' ^ He generally devours his prey on the nearest 

 rock, and loves to return to the same spot where the bones of 

 gazelles and lizards may be seen lying about, a proof that his 

 appetite is not solely confined to the finny tribes. When these 

 birds are sitting, they call and answer each other with a 

 variously-toned shriek which they utter under curious move- 

 ments of the head and neck. 



While all other raptorial birds croak or shriek, the musical 

 Sparrow Hawk of Africa (^Melierca Tnusicus, Grray) pours forth 

 ]iis mornino- and evenino- notes to entertain his mate while she 

 is performing the business of incubation. Every song lasts a 

 minute, and then the hunter may approach, but during the 

 pause he is obliged to remain perfectly quiet, as then the bird 

 hears the least noise and immediately flies away. 



The prowess of the Secretary Eagle [Serpentarius cristatus) 

 attacking the most venomous serpents has already been men- 

 tioned. The long legs of this useful bird, which owes its name 

 of secretary to the crest on the back of its head, reminding one 

 of the pen stuck behind the ear, according to the custom of 

 writing-cler]cs, might give one reason to reckon it, at first sight, 

 among the cranes or storks, but its curved beak and internal 

 organisation prove it to belong to the falcon tribe. Its feet 

 being incapable of grasping, it keeps constantly on the ground 

 in sandy and open places, and runs with such speed as to be 

 able to overtake the most agile reptiles. The destruction it 

 causes in their ranks must be as great as its own enviable 

 powers of digestion, for Le Vaillant mentions that having killed 

 one of these birds he found in its crop eleven rather large 

 lizards, three serpents of an arm's length, and eleven small 

 tortoises, besides a number of locusts, beetles, and other in- 

 sects, swallowed most likely by way of dessert. 



* A. Adams. ' Notes of the Natuml History of the Islands of the Eastern 

 Archipelago. Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Sainarang.' 



