Overview
With an eagle-like head, crane-like legs and a crest of dark feathers, the secretarybird is one of Africa’s most distinctive birds of prey. Standing up to around 1.5 metres tall, it strides purposefully through Tanzania’s open grasslands and savannahs in search of movement among the vegetation.
Unlike most raptors, the secretarybird hunts almost entirely on foot. It may walk many kilometres in a day, flushing insects and small animals from the grass before striking them with rapid, powerful kicks. Snakes form part of its diet, but rodents, lizards, insects, amphibians and young birds are often equally or more important.
Despite spending most of its time on the ground, the secretarybird is a strong flier. It roosts and nests in trees and can soar high above the plains on broad wings, with its long legs trailing behind it.
Behaviour & How to Identify
Look for an exceptionally tall bird with long pinkish legs, a pale grey body, black flight feathers and a long tail with two extended central feathers. The bare skin around the eyes is orange to reddish, while a fan of black crest feathers extends behind the head.
Males and females look very similar, although males may be slightly larger and have longer crest and tail feathers. Their long, heavily scaled lower legs help protect them while moving through rough grass and confronting struggling prey.
Secretarybirds hunt alone, in pairs or occasionally as a family group. They walk steadily through open country, stamping on vegetation to disturb hidden animals. Once prey is detected, the bird delivers a series of extremely fast downward kicks before swallowing smaller items whole.
Interesting facts
Their kicks can strike with around five times their body weight. Measurements from a trained bird recorded an average impact force of about 195 newtons, delivered in only a few milliseconds.
They are powerful soaring birds. Although best known for walking, secretarybirds fly to roosts and nests and may rise high on warm air currents.
Their name has an uncertain origin. The popular explanation links their crest to quill pens once tucked behind clerks’ ears, but the name may instead derive from an older Arabic term relating to a hunter or bird of prey.