Editing Secretarybird (section)

{{Short description|Bird of prey}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Secretary_bird_Mara_for_WC.jpg
| image_caption = in the [[Maasai Mara]]
| image_alt = a pale grey, long-legged bird of prey in long dry grass
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2020 |title=''Sagittarius serpentarius'' |volume=2020 |page=e.T22696221A173647556 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22696221A173647556.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| parent_authority = [[Johann Hermann|Hermann]], 1783
| genus = Sagittarius
| species = serpentarius
| authority = ([[John Frederick Miller|J. F. Miller]], 1779)
| range_map = Secretarybird distribution map.svg
| range_map_caption = Distribution shown in green
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=sharpe1891>{{cite book |last1=Sharpe |first1=Richard Bowdler |title=Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum |date=1874 |volume=1 |publisher=British Museum (Natural History). Department of Zoology |location=London |pages=45 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8307581 |archive-date=17 October 2021 |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017220146/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8307581 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true|title={{small|List}}
|''Falco serpentarius'' {{small|(J. F. Miller)}}
|''Otis serpentarius'' {{small|([[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli|Scopoli]], 1786)}}
|''Vultur serpentarius'' {{small|([[John Latham (ornithologist)|Latham]], 1790)}}
|''Vultur secretarius'' {{small|([[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]], 1796)}}
|''Secretarius reptilivorus'' {{small|([[François Marie Daudin|Daudin]], 1806)}}
|''Serpentarius africanus'' {{small|(Shaw, 1809)}}
|''Gypogeranus serpentarius'' {{small|([[Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger|Illiger]], 1811)}}
|''Ophiotheres cristatus'' {{small|([[Louis Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]], 1819)}}
|''Gypogeranus reptilivorus'' {{small|([[Camillo Ranzani|Ranzani]], 1823)}}
|''Gypogeranus africanus'' {{small|([[James Francis Stephens|Stephens]], 1826)}}
|''Serpentarius cristatus'' {{small|([[René Lesson|R. Lesson]], 1831)}}
|''Gypogeranus capensis'' {{small|([[William Ogilby|Ogilby]], 1835)}}
|''Gypogeranus philippensis'' {{small|(Ogilby, 1835)}}
|''Gypogeranus gambiensis'' {{small|(Ogilby, 1835)}}
|''Serpentarius reptilivorus'' {{small|([[George Robert Gray|Gray]], 1840)}}
|''Serpentarius secretarius'' {{small|(Gray, 1848)}}
|''Sagittarius secretarius'' {{small|([[Hugh Edwin Strickland|Strickland]], 1855)}}
|''Serpentarius orientalis'' {{small|([[Jules Verreaux|J. Verreaux]], 1856)}}
|''Astur secretarius'' {{small|([[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1862)}}}}
}}

The '''secretarybird''' or '''secretary bird''' ('''''Sagittarius serpentarius''''') is a large [[bird of prey]] that is [[Endemism|endemic]] to Africa. It is mostly terrestrial, spending most of its time on the ground, and is usually found in the open grasslands and [[savanna]] of the [[Sub-Saharan Africa|sub-Saharan region]]. [[John Frederick Miller]] described the species in 1779. A member of the order [[Accipitriformes]], which also includes many other [[Diurnal animal|diurnal]] birds of prey such as [[eagle]]s, [[hawk]]s, [[kite (bird)|kites]], [[vultures]], and [[harrier (bird)|harriers]], it is placed in its own family, [[Sagittariidae]].

The secretarybird is instantly recognizable as a very large bird with an eagle-like body on [[crane (bird)|crane-like]] legs that give the bird a height of as much as {{cvt|1.3|m}}. The sexes are similar in appearance. Adults have a featherless red-orange face and predominantly grey plumage, with a flattened dark crest and black [[flight feather]]s and thighs.

Breeding can take place at any time of year but tends to be late in the dry season. The nest is built at the top of a thorny tree, and a clutch of one to three [[Egg|eggs]] is laid. In years with plentiful food all three young can survive to fledging. The secretarybird hunts and catches prey on the ground, often stomping on victims to kill them. Insects and small vertebrates make up its diet.

Although the secretarybird resides over a large range, the results of localised surveys suggest that the total population is experiencing a rapid decline, probably as a result of [[habitat destruction]]. The species is therefore classed as [[Endangered species|Endangered]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]]. The secretarybird appears on the [[Coat of arms|coats of arms]] of [[Emblem of Sudan|Sudan]] and [[Coat of arms of South Africa|South Africa]].