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The nests are large, platform-like and often softened with grass and dung. 13. They lay 2-3 blue-green egg. These eggs are a few inches long and hatch after 45 days of incubation. 14. Sadly, the secretary bird is endangered. This is because their grassland habitats are cleared and used for cattle.
- Aves
- Accipitriformes
- Animalia
- Chordata
The secretary bird is distinguished by its long legs and a dramatic black crest of feathers on the back of its head. Its body is covered in whitish-gray feathers, with two long, black-tipped tail ...
- How did the secretary bird get its name? There are a couple of takes on this. One is that the secretary bird looks like an old-fashioned secretary, owing to the quill-like feathers at the back of its head, the light grey feathers resembling a long tailcoat, and the dark grey/black feathers resembling britches.
- What is the secretary bird’s Latin name? The secretary bird’s Latin name is Sagittarius serpentarius. This translates to “archer of serpents.” The secretary bird was aptly named for it’s hunting ability and diet.
- How long does a secretary bird live? About 10-15 years in the wild and sometimes a few years longer in captivity.
- Where do secretary birds live? Secretary birds are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, usually in open areas. They can be found at elevations anywhere from sea level to almost 10,000 feet above!
The secretarybird or secretary bird ( Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large bird of prey that is endemic to Africa. It is mostly terrestrial, spending most of its time on the ground, and is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller described the species in 1779.
Diet. A secretary bird is a carnivore with a wide range of prey-base. Arthropods like grasshoppers, spiders, beetles, wasps and scorpions make up the majority of their diet. They also eat small mammals like rats, mice, hares, mongooses and hedgehogs. Smaller birds and their eggs, amphibians, crabs and reptiles like lizards and snakes also ...
Appearance. The secretarybird is instantly recognizable as a very large terrestrial bird with an eagle-like head and body on crane-like legs. The neck is not especially long, and can only be lowered down to the intertarsal joint, so birds must stoop to reach down to the ground. During the flight, two elongated central feathers of the tail ...
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Secretary birds and caracaras are the only terrestrial birds of prey, hunting for their food on foot. Adults are often seen working in loose pairs, or even small family groups, stalking through grass in search of small mammals, reptiles, birds, and large insects. They are well known for their ability to catch and kill snakes of all sorts, even ...
