THE SECRETARY FALCON. 



43 



dropped, and the bird laid open his skull with 

 one stroke of her beak. 



This singular bird may easily be tamed, and 

 it becomes very domestic and familiar. If se- 

 verely pinched with hunger, it will then devour 

 ducklings and chickens ; yet, if well fed, it will 

 live with the poultry on amicable terms, and 

 when it sees any of them quarreling, will run 

 to part the combatants. Unlike all the rest of 

 the feathered race, these birds always strike 

 forward with their legs when they fight. 



