birdWatch

Secretary Bird

Sagittariidae: Sagittarius serpentarius

The Secretary Bird is so called because it resembles a (male) secretary of the British civil service 100 or more years ago. It is related to other raptors, but is in a family and a genus of its own, where it is the only species. It hunts on the ground for snakes, as its scientific name suggests, but also for small mammals, birds and eggs.

We saw the Secretary Bird frequently in the Maasai Mara, but not elsewhere.

Kenya Bird Index