14 THE CONDOR Vol. X 



was a specimen of the famed Secretary Bird {Serpentarhis secretariiis) . Its 

 plumage was varying shades of neutral tints, evidently protective coloring harmon- 

 izing with its surroundings; in length 51 inches with an expansion of 74 inches. The 

 bird is strong on legs and wing, generally running a considerable distance before tak- 

 ing flight. It builds a gigantic nest, perhaps even larger than that of the King of 

 Kopje, the Black Vulture {Otog-yps auriciilaris) . The nest is loosely put to- 

 gether, of coarse twigs, and not infrequently placed in the deep center of one of 

 those thorn trees whose formidable spines have won an unenviable notoriety for the 

 species in South Africa. 



The Secretary, known to the Boers as the snake-eater, makes a meal of lizards, 

 rats, meercats, locusts, or snakes, just as the menu provides. In his encounter 

 with the latter he is seen at his best. No sooner does his keen eye locate a snake 

 than he advances toward it, carefully but surely. When within striking distance 

 the ear tufts and neck feathers are erected, the bird strikes out with its foot, some- 

 what after the manner of a game rooster, at the same time lowering a wing which 

 it interposes as a shield to receive the stroke of the snake. The fight is generally 

 one of but a few rounds, for the bird is an able fencer and succeeds very quickly in 

 getting in a single blow which breaks the back of the snake. The bird immediately 

 follows its advantage by implanting its foot upon the head and neck of the reptile, 

 pressing them into the ground, while it delivers the couf de grace with its power- 

 ful beak. It then deliberately swallows the snake whole, beginning with the tail, 

 and, as if to make death doubly certain, it bangs the head once again against the 

 ground just as it disappears within the accommodating maw of the victor. This 

 bird is so valuable as a scavenger that it is now upon the protected list. 



One might linger longer and recount memories of the great vultures, those 

 mighty factors in South African sanitation, or repeat legends of the White-necked 

 Raven, associated in the hazy orthodoxy of the voretrekkers as the species which 

 fed the exiled prophets, or might perchance hear again, as we have so often done, 

 the weird affrighted cry of the Plover which threaten to reveal our presence as we 

 carry despatches or steal ghost-like amidst the midnight shadows to outflank the 

 watchful Zulu or cunning Matabele. But time forbids. 



In conclusion let us only earnestly hope that future campaigns in South Africa 

 may be those of the ornithologist and scientist, marching thrice-armed in the just- 

 ness of their cause against an only too numerous and capable enemy, the insect 

 pests, whose advance at times is as terrible and as destructive as an army with 

 banners. 



Alameda, California. 



NESTING OF THE WESTERN HORNED OWIv IN COLORADO 



By ROBERT B. ROCKWELL 



YEAR after year, as the first faint signs of approaching spring begin to mani- 

 fest themselves and the familiar longing for the fields and woods asserts 

 itself the writer's first thought has been of that much-sought-for nest of the 

 Western Horned Owl (Bubo virgiuianus pallesceiis) . But despite repeated in- 

 quiries, numerous "false alarms" and long hard trips during many different years 

 it was not until the spring of 1907 that the long-looked-for nest was discovered. 



Repeated failure had created a rather vague impression that a Horned Owl's 



