Secretarybird

The secretarybird is a tall African raptor that hunts mostly on foot, using long legs and powerful kicks to kill snakes and other prey in open country.

• Stamps and kicks prey with remarkable accuracy
• Patrols large areas on foot during the day
• Nests in tall flat-topped trees or thorn structures

It hunts during broad daylight so it can easily spot squirming snakes in the grass before delivering its quick, definitive stomp.

Habitat: Open savannah, grassland, and lightly wooded plains.

Native range: Sub-Saharan Africa.

A diet of snakes and lizards justifies the giant legs. The bird does not dive from the clouds like an eagle; it solves its dinner problems with quick, perfectly aimed karate kicks on the ground.

It hunts during broad daylight so it can easily spot squirming snakes in the grass before delivering its quick, definitive stomp.

Living over ten years shows that having one perfect superpower keeps the bird safe from injury and saves a lot of energy over its lifetime.

Laying eggs high up in the trees keeps the chicks perfectly safe while they grow the long legs they will need to rule the ground later.

Moms and dads look exactly the same because the snake-stomping leg design is an important tool that both parents need to use every day.

Rarity: Uncommon · 64/100. The species needs large open hunting landscapes and has declined in parts of its range through land-use change and disturbance.

• Keep vehicles well back on open plains to avoid interrupting long walking hunts.
• Watch from the side rather than cutting across a bird’s travel line.