What is a Secretarybird?
The Secretarybird, Sagittarius serpentarius, is a large African bird of prey and the only living species in the family Sagittariidae. It lives across much of sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Sudan through East Africa and south toward South Africa. It avoids dense tropical forest and the driest desert regions. The bird stands out from other raptors because of its extremely long legs, grey body, black flight feathers, long tail, and crest of black feathers behind the head. Instead of spending most of its hunting time in the air, it searches for prey while walking across open grassland.
What does a Secretarybird look like?
A Secretarybird has a relatively small head, a hooked grey-white bill, a long neck, a large body, and very long bare legs. Black feathers cover the upper part of the legs, creating the appearance of dark trousers.
The body is mainly grey, while the underside is lighter. The wings contain large black flight feathers, and the tail has long central feathers with dark tips.
The face is bare rather than feathered. Adults have orange to reddish facial skin, while young birds have yellow facial skin.
How big is a Secretarybird?
Adults stand about 0.9–1.2 m tall and weigh about 2.3–4.27 kg. Females are slightly smaller than males. Published wingspan measurements range from about 1.2–1.35 m.
That height makes the Secretarybird one of the tallest living birds of prey.
Why does the Secretarybird have such long legs?
The long legs are closely linked to its hunting method. The bird walks through grass while keeping its head high enough to scan the ground, then uses its feet to strike prey.
Its toes end in short, blunt claws rather than the long curved talons found on eagles.
Where does the Secretarybird live?
Secretarybirds live in open savannas, grasslands, lightly wooded areas, scrub, and some agricultural landscapes across sub-Saharan Africa. They occur from sea level to about 3,000 m in elevation.
The species needs open ground for hunting.
What kind of grassland does a Secretarybird prefer?
Animal Diversity Web reports that Secretarybirds select grassland where vegetation is about 1 m high or lower, which allows them to see prey while walking. They avoid heavily wooded habitats and extremely dry deserts.
What does a Secretarybird eat?
Secretarybirds are carnivores with a broad diet. They eat grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, scorpions, wasps, mice, rats, hedgehogs, hares, mongooses, small birds, eggs, amphibians, lizards, chameleons, small tortoises, freshwater crabs, and snakes.
Snakes are only one part of the diet.
Does the Secretarybird eat venomous snakes?
Yes. Documented prey includes adders, cobras, and other venomous snakes. The bird's long legs allow it to attack a snake while keeping its body away from the animal's head.
Despite its reputation as a snake killer, scientific accounts state that snakes are not the dominant part of its diet.
How does a Secretarybird hunt?
The Secretarybird hunts on the ground, alone or with its mate. It walks steadily through grass while watching for movement.
When it reaches a thick patch of vegetation, it stamps on the grass to flush hidden prey into the open.
Once an animal is detected, the bird accelerates and can chase it while running with its wings partly open.
How does a Secretarybird kill a snake?
The bird uses rapid downward strikes from its feet to stun or kill a snake. Strikes can be directed at the area behind the snake's head, where severe impacts can cause fatal injury.
Secretarybirds can swallow small prey whole. Larger prey is held down with the feet while pieces are torn away with the bill.
Does a Secretarybird drop snakes from the air?
Stories about Secretarybirds carrying snakes high into the air and dropping them are widespread, but this behavior is not well documented scientifically. The documented hunting method involves striking prey with the feet on the ground.
How does a Secretarybird digest its food?
After digestion, the bird regurgitates pellets containing indigestible material such as fur, bones, and insect exoskeletons.
Researchers can examine these pellets to identify prey from areas around nests and roosts.
How does a Secretarybird move?
Secretarybirds spend a large part of the day walking. Animal Diversity Web reports an average daily walking distance of about 20–30 km.
When threatened, the bird can run before taking flight.
How far does a Secretarybird travel?
A pair can defend a territory covering about 20–500 km². Territory size changes with food availability and local population density.
Adults are largely sedentary, but some birds become nomadic when food conditions change.
Does the Secretarybird migrate?
Secretarybirds do not perform a regular long-distance migration. Adult birds usually remain within their territories, while younger birds can travel farther when they leave their parents and establish their own ranges.
How does a Secretarybird fly?
Secretarybirds are powerful fliers despite spending much of their active time on the ground. They use broad wings to soar between feeding areas, nesting trees, and roosting sites.
They can also gain considerable height during courtship displays.
What sounds does a Secretarybird make?
Secretarybirds are relatively quiet. Their documented vocalizations include a deep croaking call, a growling sound, softer calls between adults, and food-begging calls from young birds.
Young birds produce increasingly loud calls as they become hungry.
How do Secretarybirds communicate?
Visual displays are an important part of communication. Pairs use wing movements, ground displays, soaring, and diving during courtship and territorial interactions.
How do Secretarybirds mate?
Secretarybirds form monogamous pairs and are thought to remain together for life. Courtship includes aerial displays in which the male can dive toward the female, while ground displays involve the pair walking or dancing with their wings extended.
Mating usually takes place on the ground, although mating in trees has also been recorded.
When do Secretarybirds breed?
Breeding can occur throughout the year, with a breeding peak from about August to March in the sources summarized by Animal Diversity Web. Under favorable conditions, a pair can raise two broods within 10 months.
Where does a Secretarybird build its nest?
The pair builds a large platform nest in the top of a flat-topped tree, with acacias and other thorny trees used frequently. The nest consists of sticks lined with grass and other soft material.
A reused nest can reach about 1.5–2.5 m across.
Do Secretarybirds reuse their nests?
Yes. A pair can use the same nest for years and add new material to it each breeding season.
A nest is eventually abandoned if its increasing weight and size become a structural problem for the supporting tree.
How many eggs does a Secretarybird lay?
A female lays 1–3 eggs. The eggs are laid about 2–3 days apart and have a chalky white shell with reddish-brown markings.
The eggs measure about 68–92 mm in length and 52–61 mm in width.
How long does a Secretarybird incubate its eggs?
Incubation lasts about 42–46 days. Both parents take part, with the female doing more incubation while the male brings food to the nest.
Do Secretarybird chicks hatch at the same time?
No. Because the eggs are laid 2–3 days apart and incubation starts with the first egg, the chicks also hatch at intervals of about 2–3 days.
In a three-egg clutch, the youngest chick faces strong competition for food and frequently dies from starvation.
What do Secretarybird chicks look like?
Newly hatched chicks are covered in pale down and have large heads compared with their bodies. At about 2 weeks old, they develop thicker grey down.
The crest begins to appear at about 3 weeks.
When can Secretarybird chicks stand?
The young develop slowly compared with smaller birds. At about 6 weeks old, they can stand independently and begin learning to handle prey brought to the nest.
When do young Secretarybirds learn to fly?
At about 60 days old, young birds begin vigorous wing exercises and short lifts into the air. Fledging occurs at about 64–106 days of age.
After leaving the nest, the young remain dependent on their parents for food and hunting instruction for another 62–105 days.
How do young Secretarybirds learn to hunt?
The parents continue feeding the young after fledging and expose them to hunting behavior. The young gradually learn to locate, chase, strike, and handle prey.
This training is important because hunting on foot requires a different set of skills from the aerial hunting used by eagles and other raptors.
How long does a Secretarybird live?
The wild lifespan has not been established with confidence. Animal Diversity Web reports an average captive lifespan of 18.6 years.
Captive records do not provide a reliable direct estimate of wild lifespan.
What animals prey on Secretarybird eggs and chicks?
Eggs and young birds are vulnerable to crows, ravens, ground hornbills, kites, and eagle-owls. The large open nests leave young birds exposed to predators that can reach the nest.
Healthy adults have far fewer natural predators because of their size and defensive kicking ability.
How does a Secretarybird defend itself?
The bird can use its feet as powerful striking weapons. Its long legs allow it to attack an approaching animal while keeping its main body farther away.
Running is also an important escape response before flight.
Is a Secretarybird dangerous to people?
Secretarybirds are wild raptors and are not domesticated. They are not suitable pets, and people should not attempt to handle them.
There are no documented harmful effects of the species on humans in the Animal Diversity Web account.
What makes the Secretarybird unusual among raptors?
Its hunting method is the clearest difference. The bird spends much of its hunting time walking rather than searching for prey from the air.
Its blunt claws are also adapted to striking rather than gripping prey like the long talons of an eagle.
How does the Secretarybird affect its ecosystem?
Secretarybirds consume insects, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and other small animals across grasslands and savannas. Their diet connects them directly with populations of ground-dwelling prey.
They also produce pellets that preserve identifiable remains of prey and give researchers information about local diets.
Does the Secretarybird help agricultural areas?
Secretarybirds consume rodents and insects that feed on crops. They also hunt snakes that enter agricultural areas while following rodent prey.
Is the Secretarybird endangered?
The Secretarybird is classified as Endangered on the global IUCN Red List assessment used by BirdLife International. BirdLife South Africa lists the species as Vulnerable regionally in South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
BirdLife South Africa gives a regional estimate of 5,584–11,166 mature individuals for those three countries. The same assessment reports a global population estimate of 6,700–67,000 mature individuals from the BirdLife International 2020 assessment.
What are the main threats to Secretarybirds?
Habitat loss and degradation are major threats. Agricultural expansion, urban development, bush encroachment, and changes in grassland management reduce suitable open hunting areas.
Other documented threats include electrocution on power infrastructure, collisions with vehicles and wind turbines, illegal harvesting, poisoning, and excessive burning.
How does habitat fragmentation affect Secretarybirds?
A study published in Wildlife Biology in 2026 examined Secretarybird reproduction in the Serengeti ecosystem and investigated how grassland fragmentation caused by woody plant encroachment and changes in rainfall affect reproduction.
The research provides recent evidence that the condition and arrangement of open grassland are important factors for successful breeding.
How many Secretarybirds are estimated to live in southern Africa?
BirdLife South Africa's 2025 regional assessment estimates 5,584–11,166 mature Secretarybirds across South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini. The regional population trend is listed as decreasing, while the regional category is Vulnerable.
Why is the Secretarybird called a secretarybird?
One explanation connects the name with the bird's crest, which resembles old-fashioned quill pens placed behind the ears of a secretary. Another proposed explanation links the name with an Arabic expression interpreted as “hunter bird.” The exact origin remains disputed.
The scientific name also reflects its association with snakes: serpentarius refers to serpents.
Photo source: Photo by Hobbyfotowiki, taken at Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Kenya, on 21 January 2025. The image is available through Wikimedia Commons under the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.
Sources:
- Animal Diversity Web – Secretarybird
- BirdLife South Africa – Secretarybird Red List Assessment
- Wildlife Biology – Effects of Grassland Fragmentation and Precipitation on Secretarybird Reproduction
- PLoS ONE – Secretarybird Population Trends and Ecology
- Cornell BirdNET – Secretarybird
Source: Animal Diversity Web
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