Secretary Bird - Bird of the Month, November 2018

[Lisbeth]

[Lisbeth]

What do the words at the bottom mean?

[Richprins]

It is Khoisan for "Unity/strength through Diversity" or somesuch!

[Lisbeth]

[ExFmem]

Will have to pull up some past pics - neither the AW Bird Book nor this topic on Secretaries has many entries, so will need to remedy that. They are such cool birds.

[Peter Betts]

Wonderful subject ..such characters

[Flutterby]

[Lisbeth]

They are so different from other birds and being a raptor makes it even more interesting.

The origins of the secretary bird’s name are much debated. One theory is that the feathers jutting out behind the bird’s head reminded 19th-century Europeans of the quill pens that secretaries tucked behind their ears, while its grey and black body was reminiscent of their tailcoats. A more recent theory is that the name derives from the Arabic ‘saqr-et-tair’, or ‘hunter bird’. The secretary bird is a large bird of prey found in grasslands and savannah across Sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two birds of prey preferring to hunt on foot (the other being the caracara). At 1.2 metres (four feet) tall, its height allows it to spot insects, lizards, snakes and rats in the tall grass.

I prefer the first explanation (even if the latter is more logic)

[Flutterby]

You don't often see Secretary Birds in trees...taken at Pilanesberg.

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[Flutterby]

Not a great pic, but another Secretary Bird with an ellie.

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