. Natural history. Zoology. SECRETARY BIRDS—BIRDS OF PREY. 30s The Secretary Birds.—Sub-order Serpentarii. which are characteristic of the latter, especially in the proportions of the skeleton. That these are BircU of Prey there can be little doubt, but they are decidedly aberrant, and were separated from the rest of the Accipitres by Professor Huxley. They have abnormally long legs, and an equally abnormal tail, with the centre feathers much elongated, while from behind the head rises the creat of pointed feathers, from which the bird gets its name of "Secretary," on account of some
. Natural history. Zoology. SECRETARY BIRDS—BIRDS OF PREY. 30s The Secretary Birds.—Sub-order Serpentarii. which are characteristic of the latter, especially in the proportions of the skeleton. That these are BircU of Prey there can be little doubt, but they are decidedly aberrant, and were separated from the rest of the Accipitres by Professor Huxley. They have abnormally long legs, and an equally abnormal tail, with the centre feathers much elongated, while from behind the head rises the creat of pointed feathers, from which the bird gets its name of "Secretary," on account of some fancied resemblance to a secretary, who is supposed to carry quill pens behind his ear. There are other peculiar anatomical and osteological features which separate the Secretary from the other Raptorial birds. Several ornithologists, amongst them myself, have perceived certain characteristics in the Seriama {antea, p. 277) which suggest an affinity with the Secretary; and, if the Seriama is admitted to be a kind of Crane, it is also certain that it possesses certain Accipitrine characters which are difficult to account for. The external appearance of the two birds is not unlike, and there is one very curious habit which they possess in common, viz., the way in which they attack their prey, by striking it with rapid beats of their long legs, both of which are brought down with terrific force, until the object is beaten to a pulp. Another character which those birds possess in common, is the fact that both the outer and inner toe are connected by a web, which is one of the features of the Caracaras, to which, in my opinion, the Secretary is distantly related. Serpentarius is an African genus, and the single species is therefore strictly Ethiopian, but in ancient times the Secretary lived in Central Europe, as its remains, like those of the African Touracous, have been found in France. The Secretary is a pugnacious bird, so that frequently serious fights take place between t
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