wopper, too. Ne'er fear, Trueey! Trust
my secretary. He'll give the rascal a taste of his claws. There's a lick
well put in! Another touch like that, and there won't be much life left
in the scaly villain. There again,--wop!"

With these and similar exclamations the two children stood watching the
fierce conflict that raged between the bird and the reptile.

Now this bird was a very peculiar one--so much so, that in all the world
there is no other of the same kind. In form it resembled a crane, having
very long legs, and being about the height and size of a crane. Its head
and beak, however, were more like those of an eagle or vulture. It had
well-developed wings, armed with spurs, and a very long tail, with the
two middle feathers longer than the rest. Its general colour was bluish
grey, with a white throat and breast, and a reddish tinge upon the
wing-feathers. But, perhaps, the most remarkable thing about the bird
was its "crest." This consisted of a number of long, blackish plumes
growing out of its occiput, and extending down the back of its neck
nearly to the shoulders. These gave the bird a very peculiar appearance;
and the fancied resemblance to a secretary of the olden time with his
long quill behind his ear--before steel pens came into fashion--is the
reason why the bird has received the very inappropriate name of the
"Secretary-bird."

It is more properly named the "serpent-eater," and naturalists have
given it the title _Gypogeranus_, or "crane-vulture." It is sometimes
also called "the messenger," from the staid solemn manner of its walk,
as it stalks over the plain.

Of all its names that of "serpent-eater" is the best adapted to the
character of the bird. It is true there are other birds that kill and
eat serpents,--as the "guaco" bird of South America, and many hawks and
kites,--but the secretary is the only winged creature that makes
reptiles of this class exclusively its prey, and carries on a constant
war against them. It is not strictly correct to say that it feeds
exclusively upon snakes. It will also eat lizards, tortoises, and even
locusts; but snakes are certainly its favourite food, and to obtain
these it risks its life in many a deadly encounter with those of a very
large kind.

The serpent-eater is an African bird, and is not peculiar to South
Africa alone, as it is found in the Gambia country. It is also a native
of the Philippine Isles. There is some doubt whether the species of the
Ph