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105



Bxncultural flfcagasme,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCI ETY.



7 hini Series —V O L. III. — NO 4. —All rights reserved. FEBRUARY, 1912 ,



SOME NOTES ON THE SECRETARY BIRD.


Serpen tat ius secret a tins.


Part I.


By Major Horsbrugh.


Having kept this curious bird in confinement and having

had, at the same time, oppoitunities of observing it in Nature,

the following notes will I hope prove of some interest to some

of our members.


Description. Its curious shape and plumage of grey and

black (well shown in the accompanying photograph of a bird in

Mr. St. Quintin’s aviary) is too well known to need a detailed

description, and I need only note that the length of an adult

female Secretary Bird is about 58 inches. The male is slightly

smaller.


Distribution. It is found all over South Africa, wherever

the country is dry and open, and extends to Upper Egypt in the

North and Gambia in the West and Abyssinia in the East. Birds

that I have seen from Egypt had red ceres, while the South

African species had yellow ceres, so I presume the Northern

birds belong to a sub-species.


Habits. Secretaries in South Africa live in pairs as a rule ;

the same pair haunting the same big tract of country year after

year and using the same nest each season unless disturbed.

Even if the eggs are taken they will frequently lay again in the

same nest. The nest is a huge structure, placed as a rule in

some big camel-thorn or acacia, where it presents a landmark for

miles around. One nest, from which I took a young bird, its

sole occupant, was stiong enough to support my weight as I sat



