Secretarybird is a tall African bird that has long feathers on the back of its head. The bird’s name comes from these feathers, which suggest the quill pens secretaries and clerks once carried behind their ears. The secretarybird stands over 40 inches (1 meter) tall, with long legs and a long tail. The bird is mostly gray with black feathers on its upper legs. Its eaglelike face is red to orange.
The secretarybird inhabits open grass plains and steppes in Africa south of the Sahara. It spends most of its time on the ground, walking with long, stiff strides. The bird hunts lizards, small mammals, large insects, snakes, and eggs of other birds. It sprints after prey and attacks with its feet and beak.
Secretarybirds build nests on top of thorny acacia trees. The nests are made of sticks, leaves, and grass, and measure 40 to 80 inches (1 to 2 meters) across. Females lay two or three greenish or bluish eggs. The young hatch from the eggs about 45 days later.
