THE SECRETARY.
The SECRETARY or CRANE VULTURE (Gypogeranus serpentarius), a member of this family, is one of the most extraordinary birds with which we are acquainted, and well deserves a minute description. Its body is slender, its wings long and straight, the first five quills being of equal length, and there are blunt spurs or excrescences on the carpal joint. The tail is of remarkable length, and very abruptly graduated, the two middle feathers, which are slender, extending far beyond the rest. Owing to the very peculiar construction of the feet, naturalists differ as to the classification of this species, and we have therefore assigned it to no particular group. The principal peculiarity of the Crane Vulture's foot is the disproportionate length of the tarsus; the toes are short and the claws of moderate size, blunt, but slightly curved and very strong. The neck is thick, and the head small, broad, and flat at the top; the beak, which is shorter than the head, is thick, powerful, and vaulted, curving abruptly downwards from its base: the hook in which the upper mandible terminates is of moderate size, and very sharply pointed. The cere extends from below the eyes almost to the middle of the beak. The plumage is thick and formed of large feathers, which are prolonged at the back of the head into a crest, composed of six pairs of feathers placed one behind the other, so that they can be either raised and spread, or laid flat one upon another. The cheek-stripes and region of the eyes are bare. In the coloration of the plumage light greyish blue predominates; the top of the head, crest, nape, quills, and tail feathers, with the exception of the two longest, are black, edged with white at their tip; the belly is striped with black and light grey, the legs with grey and light brown; the two centre tail-feathers are greyish blue, tipped with white, and spotted with black towards the extremity; the lower wing-covers are reddish brown. The crest of the female is shorter and her tail longer than that of her mate, her plumage is also lighter; her legs are striped brown and white, and her belly is entirely of the latter hue. The young resemble their mother. The length of the male is from forty-one to forty-three inches; the wing measures twenty-four inches and the tarsus is one foot long. The female is somewhat larger than her mate.
The Crane Vulture inhabits Africa, from the Cape to fifteen degrees north latitude, and from the Red Sea to Senegal; it is also occasionally seen on the Philippine Islands. Such as are met with in Northern Africa are smaller than that we have just described, and are probably a different species. A glance at the engraving of this remarkable bird will convince our reader that its life must necessarily be passed almost entirely upon the ground. Mountains and woods it carefully avoids, and when desirous of flying it is compelled to run a short distance and then spring upwards, in order to get fairly on the wing; at first it moves heavily and with apparent difficulty through the air, but after a few strenuous efforts its flight becomes easy and regular, and it sweeps lightly and beautifully aloft, apparently without even moving its broad pinions: it finds itself, however, most at home upon the ground, and stalks over its surface with much dignity, the long Crane-like legs enabling it to walk for miles without fatigue; when in pursuit of prey it runs, with its body thrown forward, almost as rapidly as a Bustard.
The Secretary Vultures live in pairs, each couple occupying a certain district, over which they often hunt for hours together, seeking their food among the grass that covers the plains. After having fully satisfied their hunger they retire to a quiet spot, and remain in a sort of dreamy apathy, until the business of digestion is accomplished. Should one of those extensive conflagrations break out by which the arid plains of Central Africa are so frequently cleared, these birds at once congregate in large numbers and hurry to the spot, in order to enjoy the rich feast thus afforded them. Keeping close to the line of fire, they seize upon and destroy the hosts of living things that are driven forth by the huge clouds of smoke, and thus spend whole hours retreating before the advancing fire, and contesting their prey with the devouring flames: so voracious are they that Le Vaillant assures us he found no fewer than twenty-one small tortoises, eleven lizards, three snakes, and a mass of grasshoppers, in the crop of a specimen he had killed; snakes of all kinds are the objects of their constant attacks, and the same author gives the following graphic account of an encounter between a Crane Vulture and one of the most deadly species of these formidable reptiles:—
"Should the snake assume a threatening attitude, and appear ready to inflict a wound, the bird spreads one of its wings, and holding it like a buckler before the foot with which it is going to transfix its prey, hops backwards and forwards in a variety of strange attitudes. Each attempt to bite is received upon the feathered shield, and when the enemy, finding all its efforts useless, becomes exhausted, it receives either a stunning blow or is cast into the air, as a preliminary to being bitten through the nape, after which it is swallowed either entire or in large pieces. It is supposed by some that the Crane Vulture is proof against the venom of snakes, as it certainly does not reject their poisonous fangs, and we have never heard of an instance in which it has been killed by a bite inflicted during one of these terrible battles." About June or July furious quarrels arise among the birds themselves relative to the choice of a mate, the disputed female becoming the prize of the most powerful of the rivals, and the pair at once commence the work of preparation for a young family. The eyrie is built upon a high tree or thick bush (generally a mimosa), and constructed of branches, plastered together with clay; the very shallow, almost flat, interior of the nest is lined with cotton-wool, feathers, and other soft materials. One of these structures is often employed for many years by the same couple, such repairs as are necessary being made at every recurring breeding season; and it is no uncommon thing for the branches of which the outer walls of the nest are formed to sprout afresh and spread, until the eyrie becomes literally a leafy bower of great beauty. Whilst repairing their dwelling, the pair pass the night in its interior, but the eggs are not laid until the month of August; these are two or three in number, and about the same size as those of a Goose, but somewhat rounder; the shell is either pure white or slightly marked with little red spots. The young are not hatched until after an incubation of about six weeks, and make their appearance covered with a coat of beautiful snow white down; at first they are perfectly helpless, and for a long time remain so weak upon their legs as to be quite unable to quit the nest, in which they sometimes remain for six months. If carefully trained, the Secretary Vulture soon becomes so tame that it may be permitted to run about a farm-yard, where it lives on the most friendly terms with the poultry, and we are told on good authority that, so far from being a troublesome member of the community, this bird not only interferes should a couple of Hens become quarrelsome and try to peck each other, but that it renders important services by clearing away intruding rats and snakes. On this account these birds are so much esteemed at the Cape of Good Hope that a severe penalty is inflicted if one of them is killed. Many and various are the names applied to this species by the natives of the different countries in which it is common; by some it is known as the "Devil's Steed," by others as the "Bird of Fate." We must own that to us these fanciful appellations are quite unintelligible, nor has any Eastern tale we have ever read thrown a light upon their origin; nevertheless our unpoetical imagination at once recognises the appropriateness of its nickname of the "Secretary," as the crest upon its head when laid back looks most comically like the pen stuck behind the ear of some scrivener's clerk.
THE SECRETARY OR CRANE VULTURE (Gypogeranus serpentarius).
The VULTURES (Vulturidæ) are the largest of all the many varieties of Birds of Prey, some of the smaller members of this family being comparable in size with the largest Eagles. The body of the Vultures is short, broad-breasted, and very powerfully framed; the neck is long, and often quite bare; the head sometimes large, sometimes small; the beak is high and straight, except at its tip, which terminates in a hook; its margins are sharp, and the upper half, or in some species one-third of the entire length is covered by a large cere; a slight outward bulging of the edge of the upper mandible is sometimes perceptible, but an actual tooth-like appendage is never met with amongst these birds. Some species possess a comb-like growth of skin above the beak. The wings are very large, broad, and decidedly rounded, the fourth quill exceeding the rest in length; the tail is of moderate size, and composed of fourteen stiff and rounded feathers; exceptional instances however occur, in which the second quill of the wings is the longest, and the tail formed of but twelve feathers. The legs are powerful, but the toes are weak and the talons short, blunt, and but slightly curved, making it at once evident that the feet of the Vulture are not much employed in seizing its prey. In most respects the internal structure of these birds resembles that of the Falcons; the following exceptions, however, are worthy of notice. The neck being longer they have more cervical vertebræ, and those of the tail are proportionately broader. The breast-bone is also comparatively low, and the gullet terminates in a crop of great size, which, when filled, projects like a bag from beneath the throat.