One of the strangest birds in Africa is this one. With the legs of a stork and the head of an eagle, it struts across the savannah. It is actually a predatory bird that has its own family. There are legends about the Secretary bird’s ability to kill snakes.

Five Interesting Facts

The following are some fascinating facts regarding the African Secretary bird:

South Africa and Sudan both have the secretary bird on their coats of arms.
The secretary bird’s food consists of insects, small animals, bird eggs, crabs, and other reptiles, of which snakes make up a very tiny portion.

Secretary birds shock their prey by stamping on it with their thicker foot soles, then swallow it whole.
Scientists were able to learn more about the hunting tactics of the ancient “terror birds” by studying the secretary bird’s feeding habits. More than three million years ago, these enormous, flightless predators inhabited the earth.

The origin of the secretary bird’s name is the subject of several theories. According to one theory, the feathers behind the bird’s head evoked memories of the quill pens secretaries tucked behind their ears in 19th-century Europe. More likely, though, the name comes from the Arabic saqr-et-tair, which means “hunter bird.”