. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. Birds; Reptiles. THE SEOEETAET BIRD. 645 it in Africa, was several times a witness of its voracity. One day he had killed a couple of buffaloes, and, after having 'had them cut up, caused the quarters of meat to be hung to dry in the sun ; they were soon assailed by a flock of these Yultures, which carried away the pieces of meat in spite of the nunierous gunshots with which they were greeted. On another occasion, having killed three zebras at some distance from
. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. Birds; Reptiles. THE SEOEETAET BIRD. 645 it in Africa, was several times a witness of its voracity. One day he had killed a couple of buffaloes, and, after having 'had them cut up, caused the quarters of meat to be hung to dry in the sun ; they were soon assailed by a flock of these Yultures, which carried away the pieces of meat in spite of the nunierous gunshots with which they were greeted. On another occasion, having killed three zebras at some distance from his camp, he went to find a waggon to carry them away; on his return he found nothing but the bones remaining, round which hundreds of Vultures were hovering. The Oricou is of somewhat con- siderable size; it is about four feet and three-quarters in length, and the spread of its wings measures r«-305-sociaWeV„itme(F.,«™, as much as three yards and a half. It builds its nest among inaccessible steep rocks. Lastly, the Chinese Vulture {Vultur leuconotus), which is about the size of a Turkey, is of a dirty brownish black on the body, and white about the shoulders;_ it is very common in the southern portions of the Celestial The Seepent-eaters {Gypogeranus, Illiger). This family comprehends but one single species, the Secretary Bird which in its organisation seems allied to the Waders. The Secretary Bird (Gypogeranus serpentarius), Fig. 306, has a widely-opening bill, very crooked and very powerful; a pro- jecting supe'rciliary arch; feathered legs; tarsi very long, and covered as well as the toes, with large and hard scales. The tail is tapering, and the two middle feathers are longer than the others. The wings, which are short and provided with bony protuberances, form most destructive weapons, which the bird uses with much. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - colorat
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecad, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectreptiles
