262 



ACCIPITRES. BIRDS. FALCONID.*:. 



feathers are variegated with black and grey, and tipped 

 with white. The great length and slenderness of the 

 legs have been already alluded to; these characters 

 indicate that the bird is constructed especially for walk- 

 ing and running on the ground, and in accordance 

 with this destination we find the toes comparatively 

 little developed, the hind one in particular being very 

 small, and the foot, like that of the Vultures, is incapable 

 of grasping and carrying off a prey. 



All these peculiarities co-operate in adapting the 

 Secretary-bird to its place of abode and mode of life. 

 It is found upon the dry plains of Southern Africa, 

 where it wages an incessant and deadly war with the 

 infinite multitude of snakes and reptiles of all kinds 

 with which that region abounds. And here we have 

 to notice another peculiarity of this singular bird a 

 further adaptation to its particular calling of snake- 

 destroyer. Its wings, which are of large size, and 

 covered with strong quill feathers like those of most 

 Falconidae, are further armed with blunt but strong 

 spurs at the wrist joint, and these wings the bird 

 holds before him like a shield, keeping them hi con- 

 tinual agitation sparring, as it were, as he advances 

 sidelong towards his intended prey. His long legs, 

 which enable him to run with rapidity, also give 

 him a great advantage in this mode of attack, by rais- 

 ing his head to a safe height from the ground , and as 

 he gradually approaches the snake, he watches care- 

 fully for the moment when the latter is about to spring 

 upon him, and to fix its poisonous fangs in some vul- 

 nerable part of its adversary's body. But this is usually 

 a vain attempt ; as the reptile dashes upon its enemy, a 

 sudden and most violent blow from the bird's armed 

 wing throws him writhing upon the ground, and this 

 process is repeated if the snake be strong enough to 

 return to the attack. After reducing his foe to a help- 

 less condition by these tremendous blows, the bird, like 

 a victorious gladiator, proceeds to despatch his oppo- 



nent, whom he swallows whole if of convenient size, or 

 tears to pieces if too large to be disposed of at a single 

 gulp. He has sometimes been seen to carry up a 

 snake, which refused to die easily, to a great height in 

 the air, and then let him fall to the ground. Some 

 notion of the voracity of this bird, and of the benefits 

 which he unconsciously confers upon the inhabitants of 

 a region so overrun with reptiles as Southern Africa, 

 may be obtained from a statement of Le Vaillant, to 

 the eifect that he found in the crop of a Secretary 

 eleven good-sized lizards, three snakes of the length 

 of a man's arm, and eleven small tortoises, besides a 

 considerable number of insects. It is no wonder then 

 that the Secretary-bird is regarded as a benefactor 

 by the inhabitants of his native country ; and we find 

 that he is not unfrequently domesticated at the Cape, 

 and kept among poultry, partly for the purpose of 

 destroying snakes, rats, and other injurious animals, 

 and partly, it is said, with the view of keeping order 

 amongst the other inhabitants of the yard. He is said 

 to live peaceably with the latter, notwithstanding his 

 accipitrine nature ; although, if he is not properly sup- 

 plied with food, he sometimes makes away with a 

 chicken or two. The bird has also been introduced by 

 the French into the colony of Martinique, with the 

 view of keeping down the numbers of the terribly 

 venomous Fer-de-lance serpent (Trigonocephalus). 



The nest of the Secretary-bird is built of sticks in 

 a thicket, usually in the highest part of the district 

 inhabited by the birds. It is of large size, often three 

 feet in diameter, flat, and lined in the centre with 

 wool, hair, and feathers. The bird is said to have 

 the art of arranging the branches of the bushes sur- 

 rounding it, in such a way that their shoots speedily 

 form a rampart round it, and conceal it most effec- 

 tually. The eggs are two or three in number, and 

 of a bluish-white colour, family spotted or clouded 

 with brown. 



HARRIERS. 



THE COMMON HAEEIEE (Circus cyaneus). The 

 group of hawks to which the name of Harriers is given, 

 makes the nearest approach of all the diurnal preda- 

 ceous birds to the family of the Strigidse, or Owls. The 

 characters which indicate this alliance are the softness 

 of the plumage, and the greater size of the eyes and 

 ears, accompanied, in some species, by a radiating 

 arrangement of the feathers of the face, presenting a 

 certain degree of resemblance to the well-known facial 

 discs which give the owls such a curious staring aspect. 

 The name of Harriers given to this group of hawks, 

 is supposed to allude to their mode of seeking their 

 prey ; when thus engaged, they fly slowly along at but 

 a little distance from the ground, apparently beating 

 over every part of the surface, somewhat in the manner 

 of a dog hunting for game. 



The Common Harrier is generally distributed in 

 Britain, although now, like most birds of prey, becom- 

 ing far less common than it was but a few years back. 

 It inhabits the temperate parts of Europe and Asia, but 



appears to become less abundant towards the north. 

 Specimens have been killed in some parts of Africa, 

 and a harrier occurs in North America which seems 

 to be identical with the European species. The male 

 of the Common Harrier measures about eighteen inches 

 in length, and is of a light bluish-grey colour on the 

 upper surface, with the primaries of the wings nearly 

 black ; the lower surface is ashy grey, becoming paler 

 on the belly. The female, which is about two inches 

 longer than her partner, differs from him completely in 

 colouring, being of a uniform brown colour above, and 

 reddish-buff beneath, whilst the lateral tail feathers are 

 barred transversely with two shades of brown. From 

 this latter character the female is sometimes called the 

 Ringtail, or Ring-tailed Harrier. The wings in both 

 sexes are about two inches shorter than the tail ; the 

 bill is black, the cere and feet are yellow, and the claws 

 black. 



This bird is usually found in flat, marshy districts, 

 on low moors and commons. Its flight is buoyant and 



