The Secretary Bird

This month Le Document salutes a powerful African Bird of Prey that once seen is never forgotten. They live for 10 – 15 years in the wild or about 20 years in captivity.

The female Secretary Bird has long legs and lays blue eggs. She is roughly 1.3m high and has a wingspan of about 2m. Secretary Birds hunt on land and rarely fly. If you look on YouTube you can see one take on a Cobra snake and stomp it to death with its feet.

They often hunt in pairs and aren’t afraid of attacking young cheetahs. They have one partner and are faithful. They have mating rituals that involves dancing. They have been nick named The Devil's Horse because they are such fast runners. This painting of a secretary bird was made in September by Harry Pye with help from Rowland Smith.