BIRD OF THE YEAR 2019 SECRETARYBIRD

Hi, my name is Strider. I am a Secretarybird. I am the flagship species of the African Grasslands KEY FEATURES because I usually hang out in intact grassland or open savannah ecosystems. My scientific name, SECRETARYBIRD Sagittarius serpentarius, means "bowman" and "interest in snakes". I thought people started calling AKA STRIDER me Secretarybird because it looks like I have quills tucked behind my ear like a secretary. Where Sagittarius serpentarius my name comes from and what it means is uncertain and heavily debated. That makes me pretty mysterious I think.

EYES HAZEL EYES WITH ORANGE NAPE LONG ERECTILE CREST BARE SKIN FROM BILL TO BEHIND EYE WITH BLUISH-GREY BLACK TIPS WING COVERTS UPPER WING & LOWER WING COVERTS BLUISH GREY BILL & CERE PALE BLUE-GREY - WINGS FLIGHT FEATHERS BLACK UPPER BODY UPPER PARTS TO CREST GREY TAIL GREY, TIPPED WHITE RUMP BLACK WITH BLACK BAND WINGS 1.2 - 1.35M LOWER BODY BELLY & SIZE 125 -150CM LEGS AND FEET UPPER LEG FEATHERS BLACK WEIGHT 2.3 - 4.27KG LONG, PINKISH-GREY LEGS & FEET LIFESPAN 18 YRS IN CAPTIVITY WITH 4 SHORT STUBBY TOES. Adult Secretarybird

Habitat and Distribution Food and Feeding I live in Africa, south of the Sahara, except About 87% of my diet is Arthropods in the very wet tropical and extreme (grasshoppers, spiders, scorpions and desert areas. I prefer grasslands or open beetles), but I also eat small mammals, savannah, but don’t mind semi-desert and birds, and reptiles. I’m known for my ability scrubland. As long as its mostly open with grass to kill and eat snakes, but I only go no more than a meter tall so that I can spot my through the effort 1% of the time. I hunt on prey. Even though I prefer natural areas, I some- the ground, walking at a steady pace until I times make use of agricultural areas where there is spot my prey. I use my long, strong legs to an abundance of mice and insects to catch. When I stomp on my prey or to flush out any food can’t find enough food, I simply fly to the next area within my from tufts of grass. Then I catch them hunting range which can be as large as 60km2. with my bill.

Strider’s Life Cycle CHICKS NEWLY HATCHED CHICKS CARE OF CHICKS BOTH ADULTS FEED CHICKS THROUGH REGURGITATION FTER ABOUT 6 WEEKS THEY FEED THEM BREEDING MONOGOMOUS - WILL USUALLY COVERED IN OFF-WHITE DOWN & . A , LARGER PREY ITEMS TO TEAR & EAT THEMSELVES NCE STAY TOGETHER FOR LIFE. PERFORM HAVE OVERLY LARGE HEADS. AT 2 . O FLEDGED PARENTS WILL TRAIN CHICKS TO HUNT COURTSHIP AERIAL & GROUND WEEKS DEVELOP GRAY DOWN & AT 3 . DISPLAYS MAKING A DEEP, WEEKS THE CREST BEGINS TO CROAKING WAIL OR A GROWLING APPEAR. STAND AFTER 6 WEEKS & FLEDGE CHICKS FLEDGE AT 64 - 106 DAYS & SOUND. BREEDS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR CAN FEED THEMSELVES FROM PREY REMAIN AROUND THE NEST TREE FOR FURTHER 62 -105 PEAKING FROM AUGUST TO MARCH. BROUGHT TO THE NEST. FULLY DAYS WHERE THEY REMAIN DEPENDENT ON PARENTS FOR FEATHERED BY 7 WEEKS. AROUND FOOD & TO TEACH THEM HOW TO FORAGE. NEST CAN RAISE 2 BROODS WITHIN 10 60 DAYS, PRACTICE FLEXING WINGS MONTHS UNDER GOOD CONDITIONS. & FLAPPING, LIFTING OFF GROUND INDEPENDENT CHICKS BOTH MALE & FELMALE BUILD & DROPPING BACK DOWN. ONCE CHICKS ARE INDEPENDENT, THEY LEAVE THE SAUCER-SHAPED NEST WITH STICKS ON PARENTS’ TERRITORY, MOVING UP TO 800KM AWAY BEFORE TOP OF FLAT-TOPPED TREE LINED WITH RETURING TO GENERAL AREA OF NEST SITE. SOMETIMES WOOL, GRASS & DUNG. LAY 1 - 3 EGGS CHICKS REMAIN FOR UP TO 2 MONTHS TO HUNT & SHARE INCUBATED BY BOTH PARENTS FOR 42 - 46 DAYS. ROOST WITH PARENTS, BEFORE BEING CHASED AWAY.

Content and Illustrations: Chrissie Cloete @ChrissieCanDraw I Sources: Steyn, P. 1983. Birds of Prey of Southern Africa: Their Identification & Life Histories. Dover, New Hampshire: Tanager Books, Inc. I Dean, WRJ, Ryan PG (eds) Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa (VIIth Ed) Cape Town: The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. I Hofmeyr SD, Symes CT, Underhill LG (2014) Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius Population Trends and Ecology: Insights from South African Citizen Science Data. PLoS ONE 9(5): e96772. doi:10.1371/- journal.pone.0096772 I Sherman, P. 2007. Sagittarius serpentarius (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed December 29, 2018 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sagittarius_- serpentarius/