Falcons and Allies 211 



the air or even receiving the blow on the stiff feathers of the wing, thus knocking 

 the reptile down, when they spring on it. If the Secretary does not succeed 

 in stunning it in this manner, he watches a chance, grasps the snake near the head, 

 and flies to a considerable height, letting it fall on the hard ground. He then 

 proceeds to swallow it. 



The nest is said to be a bulky affair placed on a tree, or, when this is not 

 available, on a bush. The eggs, two, or sometimes three, in number, are dull 

 white, spotted with rust color at the obtuse end. "The young remain in the nest 

 for a long while, and even when four months old are unable to stand upright." 



The Secretary-Bird is frequently domesticated by the Cape farmers, and is 

 said to make an interesting as well as useful pet, destroying many noxious insects, 

 snakes, and other "vermin." One of the drawbacks in keeping it as a pet is its 

 propensity for destroying poultry. 



According to Count Salvadori the Secretary-Bird of the Soudan is distinct 

 from the South African bird, but this view is not universally accepted. 



THE FALCONS AND THEIR ALLIES 



(Suborder Accipitres) 



Having disposed of the two preceding more or less aberrant groups, we come 

 to the principal suborder, that of the Accipitres. Although this suborder is 

 plainly marked from the outside, there are perhaps few groups that have pre- 

 sented more difficulties in the way of a satisfactory arrangement of its various 

 members. Originally these birds were mainly classified on external characters, 

 and it was not until 1867, when Huxley published his Classification of Birds, that 

 the subject was placed on a satisfactory basis of anatomical characters. Since 

 that time additional facts have been accumulated which have enabled systematists 

 to work out a more logical disposition of the Accipitres. One of the first of these 

 was presented by Mr. Ridgway in 1875, and that his views as then expressed were 

 sound is shown by the fact that practically identical results were reached by 

 Mr. Pycraft in 1902. This problem has also been attacked by Dr. Suschkin, a 

 distinguished Russian authority, and he too has arrived at similar conclusions, 

 so that the present arrangement may be taken as the best expression now obtain- 

 able, although it differs quite widely from that accepted by many other students. 



As already indicated, this suborder is logically divisible into two families, the 

 Falconida and the ButeonidcB. As the characters on which this division is 

 made are drawn from the skeleton, they are necessarily of a technical nature. 

 The first family ( Falconidce) may be defined as follows : The vomer terminates | 

 anteriorly in a more or less conspicuous olive-shaped swelling, which is closely 

 applied to the maxillopalatine processes; the palate is directly desmognathous, 

 that is, of the "band type," while the nasal bones are almost completely ossified, 

 the nostril being a small, usually circular opening; the scapular process of the 

 coracoid is produced forward so as to meet the clavicle. 



