{"id":106,"date":"2019-04-11T18:40:40","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T18:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biobluenviro.com\/?p=106"},"modified":"2022-09-21T06:54:15","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T06:54:15","slug":"bird-of-the-year-2019-secretarybird-sagittarius-serpentarius-rowan-van-tonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biobluenviro.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/11\/bird-of-the-year-2019-secretarybird-sagittarius-serpentarius-rowan-van-tonder\/","title":{"rendered":"BIRD OF THE YEAR 2019 \u2013 SECRETARYBIRD (SAGITTARIUS SERPENTARIUS) (Rowan van Tonder)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

GENERAL:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsecretarybird or secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a very large,\nmostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the\nopen grasslands and savannah of the sub-Saharan region. Although a member of\nthe order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as\nkites, hawks, vultures, and harriers, it is given its own family, Sagittariidae.\nIt appears on the coats of arms of Sudan and South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n1769 Vosmaer was the first European to describe the secretarybird in one of the\npamphlets later collected as his Regnum Animale, naming it Sagittarius for its\ngait which was thought to resemble an archer’s. He also mentioned that it was\nknown as the Secretarius by farmers at the Cape of Good Hope who had\ndomesticated it to combat pests around homesteads. In 1779 English illustrator\nJohn Frederick Miller also described it as secretarybird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITAT:  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nchooses open country, mainly savanna, open woodland, grassland and dwarf shrub\nland. These ‘habitat preferences are confirmed by the relatively high reporting\nrates in the Karoo, Kalahari, Grassland, Mopane, Miombo and Woodland vegetation\ntypes. It is also attracted to man-made habitats such as airfields, grazing\npaddocks and fallow fields. It is absent from mountain Fynbos, and avoids\nforest, dense woodland and very rocky, hilly or mountainous areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BREEDING: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretarybirds associate in monogamous pairs. During courtship, they exhibit a nuptial display by soaring high with undulating flight patterns and calling with guttural croaking. Males and females can also perform a grounded display by chasing each other with their wings up and back, much like the way they chase prey. They usually mate on the ground, although some do so in Acacia trees. Secretary ybirds will stay close to their mate even if their chick has already left. Nests: are built at a height of 5\u20137 m on Acacia trees. Both the male and female visit the nest site for almost half a year before egg laying takes place. The nest is around 2.5 m (eight feet) wide and 30 cm (one foot) deep and is constructed as a relatively flat basin of sticks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

STOMPING: <\/strong>
Secretarybirds specialize in stomping their prey until the prey is killed or immobilized. This method of hunting is commonly applied to lizards or snakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DIET: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike\nmost birds of prey, the secretary bird is largely terrestrial, hunting its prey\non foot. Adults hunt in pairs and sometimes as loose familial flocks, stalking\nthrough the habitat with long strides. Prey may consist of insects, mammals\nranging in size from mice to hares and mongoose, crabs, lizards, snakes,\ntortoises, small birds, bird eggs, and sometimes dead animals killed in grass\nor bush fires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THREATS: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nyoung are preyed upon by crows, ravens, hornbills, large owls and kites as they\nare vulnerable in Acacia tree tops, with no known incidents of predation on\nadults. As a population, the secretary bird is mainly threatened by loss of\nhabitat and deforestation. In 1968 the species became protected under the\nAfrica Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Loss of\ngrassland to bush encroachment driven by rising CO2 levels has also been\nimplicated, as has a susceptibility to power line collisions. Nevertheless, the\nspecies is still widespread across Africa, and has adapted well to arable land\nwhere prey animals such as rodents are more common than in traditional habitat.\nThe species is well represented in protected areas as well. They are assessed\nas vulnerable by the IUCN due to a recent rapid decline across their entire\nrange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DISTRIBUTION MAP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Information Obtained by Rowan\nvan Tonder (Avifauna Specialist)<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GENERAL: The secretarybird or secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a very large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Saharan region. Although a member of the order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, hawks, vultures, and harriers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBIRD OF THE YEAR 2019 \u2013 SECRETARYBIRD (SAGITTARIUS SERPENTARIUS) (Rowan van Tonder) - biobluenviro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biobluenviro.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/11\/bird-of-the-year-2019-secretarybird-sagittarius-serpentarius-rowan-van-tonder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BIRD OF THE YEAR 2019 \u2013 SECRETARYBIRD (SAGITTARIUS SERPENTARIUS) (Rowan van Tonder) - biobluenviro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GENERAL: The secretarybird or secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a very large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Saharan region. 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