Meet a tall bird that walks across the open grassland of Africa, and learn how it got its names. A secretarybird's scientific name means "bowman" in Latin, and it is also called "the archer of snakes." A secretarybird stands about 0.9 to 1.5 meters tall, and it has very long legs for a bird of prey. It has a crest of long black feathers at the back of its head. Its feathers are mostly gray, with black flight feathers on its wings. It has a bare orange face. Black feathers on its upper legs look like short pants. Secretarybirds live in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert.

Next, let us look at the places where these birds live and at how they get around. They like open places with short grass, such as savanna. A secretarybird looks for grassland where the grass is short enough that its view is not blocked. These birds avoid thick forest and dense woodland. It can fly, but it prefers to walk. It has short, blunt toes that suit walking. It walks about 20 to 30 kilometres in a day. When it is startled, it runs before it takes off. It hunts on the ground.

Now let us look at what these birds eat and how they take their food. A secretarybird is an opportunistic predator, which means it eats many kinds of prey. Most of what a secretarybird eats is arthropods such as grasshoppers, beetles, wasps, spiders and scorpions. A secretarybird eats small mammals, birds and lizards, and sometimes snakes. You may have heard that it eats nothing but snakes, but secretarybirds do not always eat snakes. Secretarybirds hunt snakes, even venomous ones. A secretarybird stamps on small prey with its feet and swallows small prey whole.

Now let us look at how this bird is listed and at what scientists do and do not yet know. As of November 2026, the IUCN Red List lists the secretarybird as Endangered; it was last assessed in April 2020. As of November 2026, secretarybirds are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which means trade in them is controlled. Losing the places where they live is a threat to secretarybirds. Scientists do not yet know all the reasons why secretarybirds are declining. Conservation groups keep track of where secretarybirds nest.

Last, let us see how a secretarybird family begins, from the nest and the eggs to the chicks. Secretarybirds build their nests in trees, and the male and the female build the nest together. A secretarybird nest can be as wide as about 2.4 meters across. A secretarybird lays one to three eggs, and it lays its eggs two to three days apart. Both secretarybird parents take turns sitting on the eggs. A secretarybird egg hatches after about 42 to 46 days. Secretarybird parents feed their chicks.

Words to know

• bowman: a bow shooter
• predator: a hunting animal
• prey: hunted animals
• Endangered: at risk
• CITES: trade rules
• arthropods: bugs, spiders