Secretarybird

Sagittarius serpentarius

The Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia. Open grassland and savanna in Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, small mammals and birds and reptiles and frogs. The IUCN Red List lists it as Endangered.

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Scientific name	Sagittarius serpentarius
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia

🏡 Where the Secretarybird lives

Open grassland and savanna in Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs60%
🐭 Mammals & birds20%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

EndangeredVery few are left in the wild.

💡 It hunts snakes by stomping on them with its long strong legs.

Hear the Secretarybird

Recorded by Niall Perrins (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC391856. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Secretarybird

Where does the Secretarybird live?

The Secretarybird lives in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia. Open grassland and savanna in Africa.

What does the Secretarybird eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 60%), small mammals and birds (about 20%), reptiles and frogs (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Secretarybird endangered?

Very few are left in the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Endangered.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.