- Sagittarius serpentarius
Identification
4 - 5 feet long; 7-foot wingspan
- Multiple feathered crest
- Heavily scaled lower legs
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa: widespread from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to Ethiopia and western Somalia and south to South Africa. Populations crashing in some parts of its range.
Absent from the forested areas of Central Africa. Commonest in southern Africa. Resident and nomadic.
Taxonomy
The only species in the family Sagittariidae.
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Open grassland and semi-desert, Acacia woodland.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes large insects and small amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. They are most famous as snake-eaters, including poisonous cobras and adders, but also eat gamebirds, plovers, chicks, mongooses, and rabbits. All but the largest prey are swallowed whole. They walk along the ground, usually in pairs, searching for prey which is killed with a quick kick of its foot,
Breeding
It builds a platform nest of sticks on the top of a low tree. The 2 eggs are incubated for 42 - 46 days. The young fledge from 9 - 15 weeks of age.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- AvianWeb
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Secretarybird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Secretarybird
External Links
