BIRDS OF PREY AND OWLS 
75 
off my eyes ; they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending, with- 
out giving a single flap.” One which he shot measured, from tip to tip of the fully expanded 
wings, 8^ feet. 
The condor, like its smaller relatives, hunts by sight, and not, as was at one time believed, 
by smell, feeding on the dead bodies of guanacos which have died a natural death or been 
killed by pumas, and upon other dead animals. In the neighbourhood where sheep and goats 
are kept, they are much dreaded, as they will attack the young kids and lambs. The flock- 
owners on this account wage constant war against them, capturing them by enclosing a carcase 
within a narrow space, and when the condors are gorged galloping up on horseback and killing 
them, for when this bird has not space to run it cannot rise from the ground. Sometimes the 
trees on which they roost are marked, and when night falls a man climbs the tree and cap- 
tures them with a noose, for they are very heavy sleepers. 
The condor ranges from the Andes of Ecuador, Peru, and Chili southwards to the Rio 
Negro on the east coast of Patagonia. It lays two large white eggs on a shelf of bare rock 
projecting from precipitous cliffs, and the young are said to be unable to fly till after they are 
a year old. As will be seen in the photographs, the head of the male is crowned by a bare, 
fleshy caruncle, which, like the surrounding bare skin, is of a dull reddish colour: lower down 
the neck is a frill of pure white down, which forms a conspicuous contrast with the glossy 
black plumage of the rest of the body and wings. 
The Secretary-bird. 
The second of the three main divisions into which the Birds of Prey are divided is reserved 
for the Secretary-bird. This bird derives its name from the crest of long feathers which bear 
a fanciful resemblance to the quill-pens a clerk is supposed to stick above his ear. It differs 
from all the other members of the Hawk Tribe in the exceedingly long legs, which in the young 
are said to be so fragile as to fracture if the bird is suddenly alarmed. It feeds chiefly on 
insects and reptiles, especially snakes, for which last it seems to have a special liking. It attacks 
even the most venomous species, striking at them with its powerful wings and pounding them 
with its feet, jumping upon them with great force, till rendered helpless, when they are at once 
swallowed head-foremost. On account of its great value as a snake-eater it has been accorded 
special protection, though unfortunately there is a tendency on the part of English settlers to 
relax this, on account of the fact that it will occasionally eat animals coming within the scope of 
“game.” Valuable as the latter may be, there yet seems no justification for such a course. 
The secretary-bird, which is a South African species, though extending northwards as far 
as Abyssinia, builds a huge nest of sticks in low bushes, under which will often be found 
numerous nests of the Cape sparrow, apparently the only available site on the veldt, where 
bushes are scarce. Here the sparrows are efficiently protected from the icy winds which so 
frequently sweep across this region, and apparently suffer no fear of personal violence from 
the fierce owners of the domicile above them. When sitting, the female secretary is fed by 
her mate. The young do not appear to leave the nest for five or six months. They are 
frequently taken from the nest and brought up as household pets, becoming not only very 
tame, but exceedingly useful. 
The Eagle and Falcon Tribe. 
From the perplexing wealth of species displayed among the forms herein bracketed 
together, we can only select a few examples, which embrace, however, all the more important 
and interesting forms. 
Beginning with the more lowly, we start with those members of small or medium size 
known as Kites, and as an example of the group take the species known in the British 
Islands as the Kite, or Glead. In former days this bird was extremely common in England, 
