Feet and Legs 



379 



"When the snake strikes, the bird either evades the 

 blow, by skipping to one side or the other, jumping back- 

 ward, or springing into the air, or else, as frequently hap- 

 pens, he simply receives the venomous thrusts of his 

 antagonist on the broad stiff feathers of the outer half 



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FIG. 297. Secretary Bird. 



of the long wing, with which he knocks the reptile down, 

 following up the fall with a vigorous kick. His extreme 

 agility enables him in a very short time to baffle and 

 overcome a snake of four or five feet in length, whereupon 

 he finally seizes it near the head with his bill, and hold- 



