23b 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



Tlie Sen'ema. — A bird without a 

 common name and almost without a 

 classified place among his brethren, 

 is the seriema, and yet one with so 

 kindly a disposition — almost worthy 

 the adjective genial — that we long 

 for some besides the Portuguese one 

 which he bears. 



He comes from South Africa — the 

 open plains of Brazil — where with his 

 mate he builds his home about six 

 feet from the ground and incubates 

 his two eggs. In appearance, the 

 seriema is an ornithological puzzle. 

 His legs resemble a plover's or 

 crane's, his body is rather similar to 

 that of a bustard, his digestive or- 

 gans exactly like those of a heron, 

 and his beak and bones very hawk- 

 like; while if we step back and take a 

 general survey of the bird, another 

 strange species, the secretary-bird of 

 .Africa, is brought vividly to mind. 

 Even his toes are unlike cadi other, 

 the second on each foot bel 



acn I 

 bl-lri 

 halv! 



like claw, like that of a halvk or eagle, whicli preserves 



its keen edge by growing clear of 

 the ground. The claws on the other 

 toes are flat and dull hke those 

 of cranes or chickens. So what 

 shall we call him and where shall 

 we classify him? The latest plan 

 is to give him a whole family to 

 himself. 



His ancestry probably runs back 

 to some very ancient form, so that 

 the characteristics which have spread 

 out among hawks, cranes and plovers 

 are here combined in a curious and 

 lomposite way. 



If the bird is given a bunch of keys 

 he will instantly demonstrate his 

 unique method of killing the small 

 rodents upon which he feeds. Seizing 

 the key-ring in his beak, he stretches 

 his body upward as high as possible, 

 and putting every muscle into the 

 swing, he brings the keys down with 

 remarkable force upon the ground, 

 or upon a stone if he can find one. 

 He once bent a key and again broke one, showing the 

 strength which he exerts. c. w. B. 



r «f 



::^n \* ^*^^'*^, •, AFRICAN* ruKCl TINE. 



JJ.V Tfts species is particularly striking on account of the large crest of coarse white hair. 



