14 THE CONDOR VoL. X was a specimen of the famed Secretary Bird (Serpentarius secretarius). Its plumage was varying shades of neutral tints, egidently protective coloring harmon- izing with its surroundings; in length 51 inches with an expansion of 74 inches. The bird is strong on legs and wing, generally running a considerable distance before tak- ing flight. It builds a gigantic nest, perhaps even larger than that of the King of Kopje, the Black Vulture (Otogyps auricularis). The nest is loosely put to- gether, of coarse twigs, and not infrequently placed in the deep center of one of those thorn trees whose formidable spines have won an unenviable notoriety for the species in South Africa. The Secretary, known to the Boers as the snake-eater, makes a meal of lizards, rats, roecroats, locusts, or snakes, just as the menu provides. In his encounter with the latter he is seen at his best. No sooner does his keen eye locate a snake than he advances toward it, carefully but surely. When within striking distance the ear tufts and neck feathers are erected, the bird strikes out with its foot, some- what after the manner of a game rooster, at the same time lowering a wing which it interposes as a shield to receive the stroke of the snake. The fight is generally one of but a few rounds, for the bird is an able fencer and succeeds very quickly in getting in a single blow which breaks the back of the snake. The bird immediately follows its advantage by implanting its foot upon the head and neck of the reptile, pressing them into the ground, while it delivers the coup de grace with its power- ful beak. It then deliberately swallows the snake whole, beginning with the tail, and, as if to make death doubly certain, it bangs the head once again against the ground just as it disappears within the accommodating maw of the victor. This bird is so valuable as a scavenger that it is now upon the protected list. One might linger longer and recount memories of the great vultures, those mighty factors in South African. sanitation, or repeat legends of the White-necked Raven, associated in the hazy orthodoxy of the voretrekkers as the species which fed the exiled prophets, or might perchance hear again, as we have so often done, the weird aftrighted cry of the Plover which threaten to reveal our presence as we carry despatches or steal ghost-like amidst the midnight shadows to outflank the watchful Zulu or cunning Matabele. But time forbids. In conclusion let us only earnestly .hope that future campaigns in South Africa may be those of the ornithologist and scientist, marching thrice-armed in the just- ness of their cause against an only too numerous and capable enemy, the insect pests, whose advance at times is as terrible and as destructive as an army with banners. Alameda, Cah?t?rna? NESTING OF THE WESTERN HORNED OWL IN COLORADO By ROBERT B. ROCKWELL EAR after year, as the first faint signs of approaching spring begin to mani- fest themselves and the familiar longing for the fields and woods asserts itself the writer's first thought has been of that much-sought-for nest of the Western Horned Owl (t3ubo virginianus pallescens). But despite repeated in- quiries, numerous "false alarms" and long hard trips during many different years it was not until the spring of 1907 that the long-looked-for nest was discovered. Repeated failure had created a rather vague impression that a Horned Owl's
