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.