🦡 Honey badger vs Secretarybird 🦅
The secretarybird is about one and a half times as tall as the honey badger. The honey badger weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦡 Honey badger | 🦅 Secretarybird |
|---|---|---|
| Size The secretarybird is about one and a half times as tall as the honey badger. | 24 to 28 in60 to 70 cm1 | 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 honey badger weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird. | 18 to 26 lb8 to 12 kg1 | 5.1 to 9.4 lb2.3 to 4.3 kg2 |
| Lives The secretarybird usually lives about twice as long as the honey badger. | 7 to 8 years7 to 8 years1 | 19 years19 years2 |
| Eats The honey badger eats plants and animals; the secretarybird eats meat. | eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs | insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | forests, grassland, rocky hills and deserts across most of Africa south of the Sahara and on the Arabian Peninsula | open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara |
Which one? Honey badger or secretarybird
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the honey badger 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 Honey badger vs Secretarybird
- The honey badger: A short, strong animal from Africa and Asia that eats eggs, snakes and more.
- The secretarybird: A tall African bird of prey that walks a long way each day.
- They are different kinds of animal. The honey badger 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 secretarybird is about one and a half times as tall as the honey badger: 2 against 1.
- The honey badger weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird. That is 1 for the honey badger and 2 for the secretarybird.
- The secretarybird usually lives about twice as long as the honey badger. Usual lifespans: 1 for the honey badger and 2 for the secretarybird.
- The honey badger eats eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs. The secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
- The honey badger lives in forests, grassland, rocky hills and deserts across most of Africa south of the Sahara and on the Arabian Peninsula. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The honey badger: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The secretarybird: in danger (Endangered on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🦡 Honey badger
- A honey badger lives in forests, grassland and deserts.
- A male can walk a long way in one day looking for food.
- It eats eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs.
🦅 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 Honey badger and Secretarybird
Which is bigger, honey badger or secretarybird?
The secretarybird is about one and a half times as tall as the honey badger: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, honey badger or secretarybird?
The honey badger weighs about 3 times as much as the secretarybird. That is 1 for the honey badger and 2 for the secretarybird.
Which lives longer, honey badger or secretarybird?
The secretarybird usually lives about twice as long as the honey badger. Usual lifespans: 1 for the honey badger and 2 for the secretarybird.
What do honey badger and secretarybird eat?
The honey badger eats eggs, small rodents, snakes, birds and frogs. The secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
Where do honey badger and secretarybird live?
The honey badger lives in forests, grassland, rocky hills and deserts across most of Africa south of the Sahara and on the Arabian Peninsula. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do secretarybirds eat honey badgers?
The secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes. Honey badgers are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, honey badger or secretarybird?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. 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/honey-badger-vs-secretarybird
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Mellivora capensis (honey badger), 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.