298 VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY 



carrion because its beak is not strong enough to enable it to kill living 

 prey. Perhaps the poor buzzard is more to be pitied than censured. 

 The Andean condor, and the California condor, and the king vulture 

 are other familiar members of the present group. 



The secretary bird (Gypogeranus) is perhaps the strangest of 

 all birds of prey. It is a long-legged bird, rather more like a crane in 

 proportions than like the other members of its order; it stands about 

 four feet in height on long slender legs, upon which it places more 

 reliance for speeding than upon its wings. It is especially fond of 

 snakes, though it accepts lizards, frogs and insects. Its method of 

 attacking a snake is unique. The snake is incited to strike, and when 

 it does the bird side-steps and receives the blow on the edge of its 

 stiffly extended wing. The force of the blow seems to stun the snake 

 momentarily, and the bird pounces on it and grasps it by the neck 

 with its powerful talons. 



The remaining subdivision includes the following types: falcons, 

 gyrfalcons, duck-hawks, kestrels, falconets, carrion-buzzards, nu- 

 merous types of hawks, caracaras, true eagles, hawk-eagles, harpies, 

 harriers, and Old World vultures. Several other less known types 

 might be mentioned, but these will suffice. 



The golden eagle may well be allowed to represent the entire 

 collection. This characteristic American bird is nearly a yard long 

 and has a wing-spread of nearly seven feet. It is proverbial for its 

 courage, but one is somewhat taken aback by what Major Bendire 

 says about it: "Notwithstanding the many sensational stories of 

 the fierceness and prowess of the golden eagle, especially in defense 

 of its eyrie, from my own observations I must confess, if not an ar- 

 rant coward, it certainly is the most indifferent bird, in respect to the 

 care of its eggs and young, I have ever seen." This disclosure might 

 possibly make us doubt the wisdom of our selection of a national em- 

 blem, but, as though to compensate its faults in some respects, it is 

 given credit for being "a clean, trim-looking, handsome bird, keen- 

 sighted, rather shy and wary at times, even in thinly settled parts of 

 the country, swift of flight, strong and powerful of body, and more 

 than a match for any animal of similar size." To say the very least 

 the bird is efficient, and in this respect not so bad an emblem. Let 

 him who will f*>d a better bird ! 



