216 



VEKTEBRATEB. 



the water below, and seldom fails of securing a fish in its ta' ma. 

 It is very striking to see it, immediately after, shaking ofl 'he 



The Osprey. 



water from its feathers, which rises up liktf a cloud of va^, and 

 then the bird shapes its course to the neighboring woods. 



The Secretary Bird derives its name from the tufts of 

 feathers at the back of its head, which bear a fanciful resemblance 

 to pens stuck behind the ear. This extraordinary bird, whose true 

 position in ornithology has been such a stumbling-block to natu- 

 ralists, inhabits South Africa, Senegambia, and the Philippine 

 Islands. Probably a different species inhabits each of these 

 countries. It feeds on snakes and other reptiles, of which it con- 

 sumes an amazing number, and is on that account protected. 

 When battling with a snake, it covers itself with one wing as with 

 a shield, and with the other strikes at the reptile until it falls 

 senseless, when a powerful blow from the beak splits open the 

 snake's head, and the victim is speedily swallowed. 



The Common Buzzard is varied with brown and ferru- 

 ginous color above, and with white and ferruginous beneath ; the 

 cere and legs are yellow, and the tail banded with brown. The 



