Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius)
It is a long-legged bird, with a slender but powerful body 1.2 m (3.9 feet) long and a 2.1-metre (6.9-foot) wingspread. Twenty black crest feathers make it appear to be carrying quill pens behind its ears, as secretaries once did. It has a light gray body, black thighs and flight feathers, and white wing linings. Its head and beak resemble those of the caracara. Its tail has a pair of long central streamers. Its legs have thick scales to protect the bird from snakebite.
Snakes are the main food of secretary birds, a diet supplemented by lizards, grasshoppers, mice, and birds’ eggs. Secretary birds hunt on foot, in pairs or small groups that keep in contact by hooting. They kill snakes by stamping or flailing them against the ground, sometimes dropping them from aloft.
Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius)
It is a long-legged bird, with a slender but powerful body 1.2 m (3.9 feet) long and a 2.1-metre (6.9-foot) wingspread. Twenty black crest feathers make it appear to be carrying quill pens behind its ears, as secretaries once did. It has a light gray body, black thighs and flight feathers, and white wing linings. Its head and beak resemble those of the caracara. Its tail has a pair of long central streamers. Its legs have thick scales to protect the bird from snakebite.
Snakes are the main food of secretary birds, a diet supplemented by lizards, grasshoppers, mice, and birds’ eggs. Secretary birds hunt on foot, in pairs or small groups that keep in contact by hooting. They kill snakes by stamping or flailing them against the ground, sometimes dropping them from aloft.