THE SECRETARY BIRD. 26o 



account of the habits of the Southern Caracara in the Falkland Islands, where they were extra- 

 ordinarily tame and very mischievous, frequenting the neighbourhood of the houses to pick up all 

 kinds of offal. If a beast were killed they congregated from all quarters like so many Vultures, and 

 they did not hesitate to attack arid capture wounded birds, on one occasion pouncing on a Dog which 

 was lying asleep. They would also carry off miscellaneous articles which were lying on the ground. 

 " A large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as were a pair of heavy balls, used in catching 

 wild cattle. Mr. Usborne experienced during the survey a severe loss in a small Kater's compass, 

 in_ a red morocco case, which was never recovered." According also to Mr. Darwin, these birds 

 were quarrelsome and extremely passionate, and it was curious to behold them, when impatient, tear- 

 ing up the grass with their bills, from rage. It may be owing to their strong feelings, as described 

 by the last-named naturalist, that the colour of the face changes in the Brazilian Caracara, concern- 

 ing which a somewhat amusing incident may be related. There arrived from Patagonia at the 

 Zoological Gardens two Caracaras, which were white instead of brown, like the Brazilian species 

 (Polyborus tharus), and the question which troubled naturalists was, whether these Patagonian birds 

 were a distinct species, or whether they were simply a white variety of the ordinary Brazilian 

 bird. The latter had the bare skin of the face lemon-yellow, whereas the white birds had this part 

 purple, and this was looked upon as one sign of their belonging to a distinct species. But one 

 memorable day an ornithologist went up to describe the new arrivals, and to bestow on them a 

 name, which should mark the character of the purple face. No doubt existed in his mind, for the 

 white birds had now lived for a whole year in the Gardens, and were still white and had a purple 

 visage, but, happening to turn his head away for one moment, he was not a little surprised, on 

 looking back at his supposed new species, to find that the facial character had disappeared, and that 

 the bird's visage was now yellow. At the same moment the face of one of the Brazilian birds in the 

 adjoining den had turned red, and hence it became clear that the Caracaras can change the colour of 

 the bare face at will, and that the lighter-coloured specimen was only an albino after all ! Besides 

 the Caracaras, at least one other species of bird of prey changes colour in a somewhat similar 

 way the Bateleur Eagle,* which, if irritated, flushes up to the roots of its feathers, and its bare face, 

 which is usually scarlet, becomes a deep blood-red or crimson. In the case of the latter bird the 

 change of colour is visible not only in the visage but in the feet also, which likewise acquire a 

 darker red than before. 



THE SECRETARY BIRD (Serpentarlus^ secrctarius $} . 



This is the only African representative of the Caracaras, or web-footed birds of prey, and from its 

 genei-al look and from its habits, no less than from some peculiar anatomical characters, it is by many 

 good authorities considered to be a game bird, and not a Hawk at all. No one, however, who 

 has seen a Secretary kill a Rat, and the prodigious force with which, by repeated blows of his 

 powerful legs, sometimes springing into the air and bringing both feet down at the same moment 

 upon his victim, he quickly reduces it to a shapeless pulp, would consider him anything but a bird 

 of prey. Standing before a Cobra which rises to attack him, the Secretary spreads his wings 

 out in front as a shield to guard his body, and then from behind this protection he strikes his 

 enemy down. On account of their prowess in destroying venomous Serpents, they are protected 

 with care by both the European and Native Governments in South Africa, and in the Cape Colony a 

 penalty is inflicted upon any one who ventures to kill one of these useful birds. Sometimes the 

 Secretary does not win in the fight with the Snake, for a good observer has stated that on one 

 occasion he saw a bird suddenly leave off fighting and run to a pool of water, where he fell down 

 dead. If the Snake bites a feather, the bird immediately pulls it out, but in the above instance the 

 reptile had drawn blood from the point of the pinion. It is somewhat remarkable that the Secretary 

 should have such sticking power in his legs, as they are long and slender for the size of the bird, and 

 are so brittle that it is said that, if suddenly started into a quick run, their legs will snap. The 

 Secretary Bird is a most voracious feeder, devouring Rats, Lizards, Locusts, Snakes, Tortoises, &c., and 

 Levaillant states that he took from the stomach of one of these birds three Serpents as long as his arm 



* Helotarsus ecaudatus. f Serpentarius, a devourer of Serpents. J Secrctarius, a secretary. 



