THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



97 



and at the present time they perform the same duties in 

 Turkey and Egypt. 



One tribe of falcons is called the Secretary Bird, 

 from the plumes which project at the back of the head, 

 and look like the pen behind the ear of persons engaged 

 in writing pursuits. 



The Secretary preys principally on serpents and other 

 reptiles, which it kills by a blow' of its beak on the head of 

 its enemy. A celebrated traveller, named 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, very entire, 

 all of which had been killed by the stroke on the head ; 

 there were also a number of locusts, beetles, and other 

 insects, very little injured. 



Vultures are totally different in character from the 

 other birds of prey ; they are exceedingly cowardly, and 

 never, if they can help it, attack a living animal, but will 

 eat the most filthy and putrid food. They are thus the 

 scavengers of nature, and have such a powerful sense of 

 smell, and of sight as well, that they appear as if coming 

 from an opening in the clouds the moment any animal dies. 

 They can even smell if there is a dead body in a house, 

 though they cannot see it, and instantly come and perch 

 on the roof. Vultures have enormous strength in their 

 wings, and this enables them to carry away whole 

 bodies of animals which may lie putrefying. They are 

 highly valued in Egypt and Turkey ; and a species of 

 them, called the Turkey Buzzard, is also much prized 

 in Jamaica, owing to the services they render in cleansing 

 the streets from filth of every description. This office 

 is performed in India by a bird of the stork family, 

 called the Pouched Adjutant, which will be referred to 

 further on. 



The Nocturnal Raptores comprise the Owls, which 



G 



