Sandra Collins., age 12, of Gastonia, N.C., for her question:

How did the secretary bird get its name?

He was not named for helping out in the office. And if in these modern times We had to find another common name for him, he would not be called the secretary bird. This tall African bird was named in the last century, and the reason for his odd name is now out of date.

Nowadays we would not think of trying to run an office without at least one typewriter. These neat and speedy writing machines gradually came into use during the past century. Before this happy event all secretarial work was done by hand. The fountain pen has been in use for only a few generations. Before its invention writing was done by dipping a pen with a steel nib into a bottle of ink.

There was a time when the use of pens with nibs was the last word in secretarial automation. Throughout most of history, writing, bookkeeping and other Secretarial work was done with quill pens. A quill pen was a sturdy feather taken frcm the wing or tail of some sizable bird, such as a 9008e. The bony tip of the feather was neatly s1iced with a penknife to form a pointed pen nib.

Now you know why a pocketknife sometimes is called a penknife. But this has nothing to do with how the secretary bird got his white collar name. He is a big bird, standing 4 feet tall. But so far as we know he never contributed a single feather for a quill pen. He did, however, remind peop1e of the average secretary Of the day. This Secretary kept a supply of neatly sharpened quill pens on hand, and it was his custom to stick his reserve supply behind his ear.

Now the head of the secretary bird happens to be adorned with a score or so of long quill feathers. Being a bird, of course, he has no other ears. But if he had ears, his handful of head quills would seem to be tucked behind them. He looks somewhat like the stooped, peering, hard working secretary of Scrooge, the miser. His scientific name is Sagittarius Serpentarius, the archer Serpent killer. The long legged secretary bird strides like a purposeful archer over the plains of Africa, and he is a great hunter of snakes.

The secretary bird can fly, but even to escape from trouble he Seldom takes to the air. With his wife, he hunts over a wide range for lizards, rodents and other small game and, of course, for snakes. Both birds wear plumage of workaday black and Slate gray. Some African ranchers encourage them as pets because they keep their territory free of snakes, rodents and other pests.