This is the secretarybird. It has very long legs for a bird of prey. It hunts on the ground.

These birds live in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. They like open places with short grass, such as savanna.

This bird can fly, but it prefers to walk. It walks about 20 to 30 kilometres in a day.

It has a crest of long black feathers. The crest is at the back of its head. Its face is bare and orange.

Its feathers are mostly gray. The flight feathers on its wings are black. Black feathers on its upper legs look like short pants.

This bird eats small mammals, birds and lizards. Sometimes it eats snakes.

Here is how it hunts. It stamps on small prey with its feet.

These birds build their nests in trees. The male and the female build the nest together.

Secretarybird parents feed their chicks.

Words to know

• prey: hunted animals
• crest: feathers on top
• savanna: open grassland