IN FEATHERS AND FUR 93 
This big fellow — the Secretary bird — is specially fitted to kill 
and eat snakes. So well does he do his duty, and so many of the 
disagreeable creatures does he eat, that he has been imported to 
places infested by them, as we take a cat to a house infested by 
mice. He never fails to clear them out, and adds rats, mice, lizards, 
grasshoppers, and any other fresh meat he finds prowling around. 
It is a curious sight to see the Secretary bird kill a snake, for 
of course he don't hang so quietly as that one in the picture, till he 
is dead ; nor would a wriggling live snake be very nice to swallow. 
Snakes, you know, spring at their enemy, and try to bite him. 
The bird is prepared for this trick. His wings are very strong, and 
he holds one before him, as a sort of shield, for the snake to strike 
against, while he hops around and beats him with the other wing, 
till the reptile is somewhat discouraged. The bird then catches 
him up in his bill, and throws him up in the air several times. This 
stuns him, and the bird crushes his head, and proceeds to swallow 
him whole, if he's small enough ; if not, he first tears him to pieces. 
As you may imagine, this bird is a native of countries where 
there are plenty of snakes to be eaten — such as South Africa, 
— and the people know enough to appreciate his services. It is 
said they are in the habit of catching him while young, training 
him, and keeping him among the chickens as a general protector 
from snakes and rats. He seems to understand his duty, for he 
not only eats all their enemies, but puts a stop to all fighting 
between the fowls themselves. 
When the time comes for the mother-bird to make her nest, 
she hunts up some quiet, well-hidden place — some thick bush, or 
high tree — and makes her nest, filling it with feathers and down. 
Then she lays two or three white eggs, and in this snug feather bed 
the little birds live three or four months, till they are strong and 
well able to take care of themselves. 
This bird, as well as many others who swallow the food whole, 
has the convenient faculty of throwing up the bones, feathers, and 
fur, which are left in the stomach after the meat of its prey is 
digested. 
Perhaps you think he has a curious name. A secretary is a 
man who writes a good deal, and in olden times, before gold or steel 
pens were made, every one used pens made of quills. 
When a writer wanted to lay down his pen, he would often 
stick it over his ear, as you sometimes see lead pencils placed now. 
