🐆 Bobcat vs Secretarybird 🦅
The bobcat and the secretarybird are about the same size. The bobcat weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐆 Bobcat | 🦅 Secretarybird |
|---|---|---|
| Size They are about the same size. | 30 in to 4.1 ft76 cm to 1.2 m1 | 35 in to 3.9 ft90 cm to 1.2 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The bobcat weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird. | 8.8 to 33 lb4 to 15 kg1 | 5.1 to 9.4 lb2.3 to 4.3 kg2 |
| Lives The secretarybird usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. | 12 years12 years1 | 19 years19 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles | insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America | open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara |
Which one? Bobcat or secretarybird
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the bobcat or the secretarybird yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Bobcat vs Secretarybird
- The bobcat: A wild cat of North America with a short tail.
- The secretarybird: A tall African bird of prey that walks a long way each day.
- They are different kinds of animal. The bobcat is a mammal, so it breathes air with lungs and feeds its babies milk; the secretarybird is a bird, so it has feathers and lays eggs.
- The bobcat and the secretarybird are about the same size: 2 against 1.
- The bobcat weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird. That is 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the secretarybird.
- The secretarybird usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the secretarybird.
- Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
- The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The bobcat: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The secretarybird: in danger (Endangered on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐆 Bobcat
- A bobcat lives in forests, deserts and mountains.
- It is named for its short, bobbed tail.
- It eats mostly rodents and rabbits.
🦅 Secretarybird
- A secretarybird walks a long way on foot each day.
- It has very long legs for a bird of prey.
- It can fly well, too.
Questions kids ask about Bobcat and Secretarybird
Which is bigger, bobcat or secretarybird?
The bobcat and the secretarybird are about the same size: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, bobcat or secretarybird?
The bobcat weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird. That is 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the secretarybird.
Which lives longer, bobcat or secretarybird?
The secretarybird usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the secretarybird.
What do bobcat and secretarybird eat?
Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
Where do bobcat and secretarybird live?
The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, bobcat or secretarybird?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/bobcat-vs-secretarybird
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Lynx rufus (bobcat), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Sagittarius serpentarius (secretarybird), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.