Scientific name: Sagittarius serpentarius
From a distance or in flight it resembles a crane more than a bird of prey. The tail has two elongated central feathers that extend beyond the feet during flight, as well as long flat plumage creating a posterior crest.[10] Secretary bird flight feathers and thighs are black, while most of the coverts are grey with some being white.[18] Sexes look similar to one another as the species exhibits very little sexual dimorphism, although the male has longer head plumes and tail feathers. The secretarybird has distinct black feathers protruding from behind its headAdults have a featherless red face as opposed to the yellow facial skin of the young.
In southern Africa it is locally fairly common across much of the region, largely excluding Mozambique. It generally prefers open grassland with scattered trees, open Acacia and bushwillow (Combretum) savanna, shrubland, range lands, airstrips and other habitats with short grass.
It mainly eats grasshoppers and small vertebrates, typically hunting by stamping its long legs on the ground to disturb prey, then catching them with its bill.
