Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.] [Parson's Green.
SECRETARY-BIRD.
In full plumage the tail of this bird is much longer.
Nearly allied to the Kites, the Honey-buzzards next claim attention. The name Honey-buzzard is a misnomer, for honey forms no part of the bird's food. This species exhibits, however, a quite remarkable partiality for the immature stages of wasps and bees, the nests of which it tears in pieces with its feet, so as to lay bare the coveted morsels, devouring them on the spot, perfectly regardless of the stings of the infuriated insects, which seem unable to penetrate its feathers. When its favourite food is not to be had, it will feed upon corn, earth-worms, beetles, slugs, small birds' eggs, and moles—a diet sufficiently strange for a bird of prey. Honey-buzzards appear to be exemplary parents, for they are said to construct a bower of leafy boughs above the nest to screen the young from the sun, the boughs being replaced as they wither by fresh ones.
The honey-buzzard occurs but rarely in England, and nowhere appears to be a very common bird, though it is said to be more frequently met with in Arabia and Egypt than elsewhere. On migration, however, it appears in unusually large numbers, the late Lord Lilford recording an occasion when he observed many hundreds crossing the Straits of Gibraltar from Spain to Africa. These were apparently on their autumnal migration to warmer winter quarters.
The dash, energy, and courage which we are wont to associate with the Hawk Tribe have certainly not been manifest in the members of the order which we have examined so far; but these attributes will be evident enough in the majority of the species with which we are now about to deal. One of the most interesting of these fiercer forms is the Osprey, or Fishing-hawk. As its name implies, it feeds largely upon fish, which it captures with great dexterity, seizing them either with its feet from the surface of the water, or by plunging entirely beneath the surface, when it disappears amid a shower of spray, to emerge a moment later with a fish writhing in its talons. To ensure a firm grip of its slippery prey, the soles of its feet are armed with rough tubercles, whilst the foot is furthermore remarkable in that the outer toe can be turned backwards, so as to lie parallel with the hind toe—an arrangement rare in birds of the Hawk Tribe, but characteristic of the Owls and some other birds. At times, it would seem, the osprey seizes a fish too large to be raised from the water, when, owing to the firm hold which the claws have taken, the bird is unable to release itself, and is speedily dragged beneath the surface and drowned. Some have suggested that the bird falls a victim, not to inability to free itself, but rather to its obstinacy.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.
EGYPTIAN KITE.
Feeding on garbage of all kinds, kites are useful birds in hot countries.