bleuet / Anne-Marie
Crowned bird
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© All rights reserved worldwide.
PLEASE, SEE IT IN LARGE SIZE :-)
Messager sagittaire - Secretary Bird
Le messager sagittaire (Sagittarius serpentarius) est le nom officiel donné à l’aigle secrétaire ou serpentaire. On pense que son nom vient d’une transformation française de l'arabe saqr-et-tair ou « oiseau-chasseur ».
Aspect et comportement
Ce rapace diurne mesure entre 125-150 cm. Il a un bec crochu et de longues pattes d'échassier ressemblant a celles de la cigogne. Sa nuque est ornée de longues plumes noires formant une huppe lâche derrière sa tête, et sa queue porte de longues rectrices médianes. Pour s'envoler il est contraint d'entamer une course. Mais une fois en altitude, il plane aisément.
Répartition
Il est endémique à la zone éthiopienne (Afrique sub-saharienne), aussi bien dans des zones boisées que dans la savane ou la steppe.
Alimentation
Il se nourrit de sauterelles, de tortues, de rongeurs, de serpents, de lézards et de petits vertébrés. Excellent marcheur, le serpentaire peut parcourir près de 25 km par jour dans la savane pour se nourrir. Il peut frapper du pied sur la proie jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit assommée puis l’avaler. Quand il attaque les serpents, il se sert de ses ailes comme d'un bouclier.
Reproduction
Il construit un nid de branchages dans un arbre mort. Deux petits y sont élevés chaque année.
Secretary Bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Secretary Bird, Sagittarius serpentarius, is an extraordinary bird of prey. A recent hypothesis is that its name is a French corruption of the Arabic saqr-et-tair or "hunter-bird."
Endemic to Africa, this mostly terrestrial bird is usually found in the open grasslands and savannas of the sub-Sahara. The Secretary Bird enjoys a certain fame in Africa, specifically Sudan and South Africa, where it serves as a prominent Emblem on both countries' Coat of Arms.
General Appearance
The Secretary Bird is instantly recognizable as having an eagle-like body on crane-like legs which increases the bird’s height to around 1.3 m (four feet) tall. This 140 cm long bird has an eagle-like head with a hooked bill, but has rounded wings. From a distance or in flight it resembles a crane more than a bird of prey. Serpentarius reflects the fact that this is a specialist predator of snakes.
Habitat
Secretary Birds are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and are non-migratory (although they may follow food sources). Secretary Birds prefer open grasslands and savannahs rather than forests and dense shrubbery which may impede their cursorial existence. While the birds roost on the local Acacia trees at night, they spend much of the day on the ground, returning to roosting sites just before dark.
Diet
Prey consists of insects, small mammals, lizards, snakes, young birds, bird eggs, and sometimes dead animals killed in brush fires. Young are fed liquified and regurgitated insects directly by the male or female parent.
They can either catch prey by chasing it and striking with the bill or stomping on prey until it is rendered stunned or unconscious enough to swallow.
Rearing of Young
Secretary birds lay two to three oval, pale-green eggs over the course of two to three days, although the third egg is most often unfertilized.
Crowned bird
© Copyright notice: Do not use my images without my written permission, even for a non commercial use. If you're interested in any of my photos you must contact me first. All my images are under full copyright.
© All rights reserved worldwide.
PLEASE, SEE IT IN LARGE SIZE :-)
Messager sagittaire - Secretary Bird
Le messager sagittaire (Sagittarius serpentarius) est le nom officiel donné à l’aigle secrétaire ou serpentaire. On pense que son nom vient d’une transformation française de l'arabe saqr-et-tair ou « oiseau-chasseur ».
Aspect et comportement
Ce rapace diurne mesure entre 125-150 cm. Il a un bec crochu et de longues pattes d'échassier ressemblant a celles de la cigogne. Sa nuque est ornée de longues plumes noires formant une huppe lâche derrière sa tête, et sa queue porte de longues rectrices médianes. Pour s'envoler il est contraint d'entamer une course. Mais une fois en altitude, il plane aisément.
Répartition
Il est endémique à la zone éthiopienne (Afrique sub-saharienne), aussi bien dans des zones boisées que dans la savane ou la steppe.
Alimentation
Il se nourrit de sauterelles, de tortues, de rongeurs, de serpents, de lézards et de petits vertébrés. Excellent marcheur, le serpentaire peut parcourir près de 25 km par jour dans la savane pour se nourrir. Il peut frapper du pied sur la proie jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit assommée puis l’avaler. Quand il attaque les serpents, il se sert de ses ailes comme d'un bouclier.
Reproduction
Il construit un nid de branchages dans un arbre mort. Deux petits y sont élevés chaque année.
Secretary Bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Secretary Bird, Sagittarius serpentarius, is an extraordinary bird of prey. A recent hypothesis is that its name is a French corruption of the Arabic saqr-et-tair or "hunter-bird."
Endemic to Africa, this mostly terrestrial bird is usually found in the open grasslands and savannas of the sub-Sahara. The Secretary Bird enjoys a certain fame in Africa, specifically Sudan and South Africa, where it serves as a prominent Emblem on both countries' Coat of Arms.
General Appearance
The Secretary Bird is instantly recognizable as having an eagle-like body on crane-like legs which increases the bird’s height to around 1.3 m (four feet) tall. This 140 cm long bird has an eagle-like head with a hooked bill, but has rounded wings. From a distance or in flight it resembles a crane more than a bird of prey. Serpentarius reflects the fact that this is a specialist predator of snakes.
Habitat
Secretary Birds are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and are non-migratory (although they may follow food sources). Secretary Birds prefer open grasslands and savannahs rather than forests and dense shrubbery which may impede their cursorial existence. While the birds roost on the local Acacia trees at night, they spend much of the day on the ground, returning to roosting sites just before dark.
Diet
Prey consists of insects, small mammals, lizards, snakes, young birds, bird eggs, and sometimes dead animals killed in brush fires. Young are fed liquified and regurgitated insects directly by the male or female parent.
They can either catch prey by chasing it and striking with the bill or stomping on prey until it is rendered stunned or unconscious enough to swallow.
Rearing of Young
Secretary birds lay two to three oval, pale-green eggs over the course of two to three days, although the third egg is most often unfertilized.