646 



EAPTOEES, OR BIRDS OF PREY. 



skill to disable the serpents, of which its food principally consists. 

 It has oil its head a tuft of long feathers, which can be raised 

 at will. This has been the origin of its name, in allusion to the 

 custom that clerks had of placing their pen behind their ear in the 

 days when goose-quills were used for writing. Its toes are short, 

 and its claws blunt and well adapted for walking. It con- 



Fig. 306. -Secretary Bird (Gypogeranus serpentanus). 



sequently runs very rapidly ; hence it sometimes obtains the name 

 of Messenger Bird. 



A contest between a Secretary Bird and a Serpent is a most 

 curious sight. The reptile, when attacked suddenly, stops and 

 rears itself up, swelling its neck and showing anger by shrill 

 hissings. 



" At this instant," says Levaillant, " the bird of prey, spreading 



