Meet the Secretary Bird

Secretary Bird, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson.

The Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a mostly terrestrial bird of prey found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Secretary Birds can stand as tall as four feet high, much of that height taken up by their long, crane-like legs. They are determined predators and they use their legs and claws to stamp and tear at their prey — snakes and other reptiles, rodents and other small mammals. While they spend much of their time on the ground, scrabbling for prey, they roost up in acacia trees and will occasionally take to the air to find alternate hunting grounds.

The Secretary Bird’s common name is sometimes thought to derive from the quill-like feathers poking out from behind its ears, which are not unlike the pencils or pens that might poke out from behind a real secretary’s ears. The more likely explanation is that the name is derived from a French corruption of the Arabic word for “hunter-bird” (saqr-et-tair). As for the scientific name, “Sagittarius” apparently does refer to the bird’s quills, which kinda sorta do resemble a quiver of arrows, and “serpentarius” reminds us of the bird’s favorite meal.

Birders and others looking to catch a glimpse of the Secretary Bird should head for the drier areas of East Africa’s grasslands. The Kenya Wildlife Service suggests Aberdare National Park, Nairobi National Park, Tsavo East and West National Parks, and Mt Kenya National Park. For its part, the UK based birding group Kenya Birds suggests Samburu National Park as the best place to strike the Secretary Bird from one’s list.