2019.06.08.3726.D500 Secretary Bird in the Serengeti
The secretary bird, regal and eagle-like in appearance, strides with authority across the Serengeti Plain in the Moru Kopjes region, looking for a snake to stomp. They do indeed stomp and eat snakes. This is the bird that was used to entice me to go to Africa the first time. Its name is popularly thought to derive from the crest of long quill-like feathers, lending the bird the appearance of a secretary with quill pens tucked behind their ears. A more recent hypothesis is that "secretary" is borrowed from a French corruption of the Arabic saqr-et-tair or "hunter-bird."
The following is from Wikipedia: The secretary bird -- Sagittarius serpentarius -- is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller described the species in 1779. Although a member of the order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal birds of prey such as kites, hawks, vultures, and harriers, it is placed in its own family, Sagittariidae. ©2019 John M. Hudson | jmhudson1.com
2019.06.08.3726.D500 Secretary Bird in the Serengeti
The secretary bird, regal and eagle-like in appearance, strides with authority across the Serengeti Plain in the Moru Kopjes region, looking for a snake to stomp. They do indeed stomp and eat snakes. This is the bird that was used to entice me to go to Africa the first time. Its name is popularly thought to derive from the crest of long quill-like feathers, lending the bird the appearance of a secretary with quill pens tucked behind their ears. A more recent hypothesis is that "secretary" is borrowed from a French corruption of the Arabic saqr-et-tair or "hunter-bird."
The following is from Wikipedia: The secretary bird -- Sagittarius serpentarius -- is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller described the species in 1779. Although a member of the order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal birds of prey such as kites, hawks, vultures, and harriers, it is placed in its own family, Sagittariidae. ©2019 John M. Hudson | jmhudson1.com