40 SECRETARY. 



lizards; .sometimes small turtles, and even large beetles. Dr. Solan- 

 der mentioned to me, that he has seen one of these take up a snake or 

 tortoise in its claws, and dash it from thence against the ground, with 

 such violence as sometimes at one attempt to kill it. And another 

 peculiarity is, that the Secretary strikes or kicks forward with the 

 leg, never backwards. It is not a shy bird, and on being roused, 

 first tries to escape by hopping and running, which it does verj^ swiftly, 

 taking wing only when it is not otherwise able to get oft'. 



The male and female are for the most part seen together. They 

 make a large nest on the tops of tall trees, and line it with wool and 

 feathers, though sometimes on shrubs, and trees of lower growth, laying 

 two white eggs, marked with rufous spots, about the size of those of a 

 goose; but longer. If taken young it is easily tamed, and will mix 

 with the common poultry, feeding on rats, lizards, and even locusts, 

 and other insects, rarely attacking chickens, except driven thereto 

 from the utmost necessity. It will feed on flesh, whether raw or 

 cooked, also tish and many other things, but by no m^ans on any of 

 the vegetable tril3e. It certainly is a most useful bird, serving as the 

 I)>is in Egy^t to destroy great numbers of noxious creatures; is said to 

 have been first introduced into England by Captain Purvis in one of 

 the East India Company's ships in the year 1769'''. 



From the different sjaionyms recorded above, it appears that 

 authors have been much at a loss where to place this bird, and although 

 we have before ranked it ^vith the Vulture, it seems rather to hold a 

 a place between that and the Falcon genus. Dr. Shaw, as also Mr. 

 Illiger, and Temminck, are of opinion that it should form a separate 

 gentis of itself, and the two latter have given it the Latin name of 

 Gypogeranust to this we can have no objection, well aware that it 

 does not coincide exactly ^vith either of the genera above-mentioned. 



* Edw. Glean, v.^. 24. 



f See Tern. Man, d'Oni. Ed. p. xlviii. 



