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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: _Plate 11, Cassell's Book of Birds_