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Secretary "Terror" Bird flaps wings in kill excitement  Africa,Sagittarius serpentarius,Secretary Bird,Serengeti Central,Serengeti National Park,Serengeti area,Tanzania Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

    comments (1)

  1. Read here why it has the "terror" nickname:
    Secretary "Terror" bird in Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania When I first saw a Secretary Bird in a local zoo, I just thought it was an unusual looking bird. It turns out there is much more to it than its beauty. It's quite a terror bird as well. This large bird feeds on insects, lizards, snakes and small mammals. The are even reports of these birds killing young gazelles, chasing them by foot! <br />
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And it gets weirder. Secretary birds are known to hide at the edge of a fire, killing anything that comes out of the area trying to escape the fire. Their killing methods aren't very subtle either. Small prey is generally stumped to death by its feet, breaking their neck or back, or bashing their head until the prey is numb. Some claim these birds even drop prey to death. Next, most are swallowed whole.<br />
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In other words, this is not a secretary to mess with. Africa,Ngorongoro,Ngorongoro Crater,Sagittarius serpentarius,Secretary Bird,Serengeti area,Tanzania
    Posted 11 years ago

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The Secretarybird or Secretary Bird is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Sahara. Although a member of the order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards, vultures, and harriers, it is given its own family, Sagittariidae.

Similar species: Diurnal Birds Of Prey
Species identified by Ferdy Christant
View Ferdy Christant's profile

By Ferdy Christant

All rights reserved
Uploaded Jan 6, 2014. Captured Sep 3, 2013 09:14.
  • NIKON D800
  • f/5.6
  • 1/500s
  • ISO450
  • 400mm