Secretary Bird

A later molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 confirmed these relationships. The earliest fossils associated with the family are two species from the genus Pelargopappus. The species, from the Oligocene and Miocene, respectively, were discovered in France. The feet in these fossils are more like those of the Accipitridae; these characteristics are suggested to be primitive features within the family. In spite of their age, the two species are not thought to be ancestral to the secretarybird. Though strongly convergent with the modern secretarybird, the extinct raptor Apatosagittarius is thought to be an accipitrid. The International Ornithologists' Union has designated "secretarybird" the official common name for the species. reminiscent of a quill pen behind the ear of an ancient scribe. Glenn has dismissed this etymology on the grounds that no evidence supports that the name came through French, instead supporting Buffon's etymology, namely, that the word comes from the Dutch secretaris "secretary", used by settlers in South Africa.

The secretarybird is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and is generally nonmigratory, though it may be locally nomadic, as it follows rainfall and the resulting abundance of prey. Its range extends from Senegal to Somalia and south to Western Cape, South Africa. The species is also found at a variety of elevations, from the coastal plains to the highlands. The secretarybird prefers open grasslands, savannas and shrubland (Karoo) rather than forests, and dense shrubbery that may impede its cursorial existence. More specifically, it prefers areas with grass under high and avoids those with grass over high. It is rarer in grasslands in northern parts of its range that otherwise appear similar to areas in southern Africa, where it is abundant, suggesting it may avoid hotter regions. It also avoids deserts.

Secretarybirds are not generally gregarious aside from pairs and their offspring. They usually roost in trees of the genus Acacia or Balanites, or even introduced pine trees in South Africa. moving downwind before flying in upwind. Secretarybirds, like all birds, have haematozoan blood parasites that include Leucocytozoon beaurepairei (Dias 1954 recorded from Mozambique). Wild birds from Tanzania have been found to harbor Hepatozoon ellisgreineri, a genus that is unique among avian haematozoa in maturing within granulocytes, mainly neutrophils. Ectoparasites include the lice Neocolpocephalum cucullare (Giebel) and Falcolipeurus secretarius (Giebel).

Secretarybirds form monogamous pairs and defend a large territory of around . They can breed at any time of the year, more frequently in the late dry season. 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 ground display by chasing each other with their wings up and back, which is also the way they defend their territories. They mate either on the ground or in trees. The nest is built by both sexes at the top of a dense, thorny tree, often an Acacia, at a height between above the ground. The nest is constructed as a relatively flat platform of sticks across with a depth . The shallow depression is lined with grass and the occasional piece of dung. The eggs hatch after around 45 days at intervals of 2–3 days. but if food is scarce one or more of the chicks will die from starvation.

, Namibia|alt=brownish bird with small, dead lizard in its mouth]] Unlike most birds of prey, the secretarybird is largely terrestrial, hunting its prey on foot. Adults hunt in pairs and sometimes as loose familial flocks, stalking through the habitat with long strides. Prey may consist of insects such as locusts, other grasshoppers, wasps, and beetles, as well as millipedes, spiders, scorpions, and freshwater crabs, but small vertebrates often form their main biomass. Secretarybirds are known to hunt rodents, frogs, lizards, small tortoises, eggs, and birds such as warblers, larks, doves, small hornbills, and domestic chickens. They occasionally prey on larger mammals, such as hedgehogs, mongooses, small felids such as cheetah cubs, striped polecats, young gazelles, and both young and full-grown hares. The importance of snakes in the diet has been exaggerated in the past, although they can be locally important, and venomous species such as adders and cobras are regularly among the types of snakes preyed upon. Secretarybirds do not eat carrion, though they occasionally eat dead animals killed in grass or bushfires. The birds often flush prey from tall grass by stomping on the surrounding vegetation. Their crest feathers may raise during a hunt, which may serve to help scare the target and provide shade for the face. The large intestine has a pair of vestigial ceca as no requirement exists for the fermentative digestion of plant material. Secretarybirds specialise in stomping their prey until it is killed or immobilised. This method of hunting is commonly applied to lizards or snakes. An adult male trained to strike at a rubber snake on a force plate was found to hit with a force equal to five times its own body weight, with a contact period of only 10–15 milliseconds. This short time of contact suggests that the secretarybird relies on superior visual targeting to determine the precise location of the prey's head. Although little is known about its visual field, it is assumed to be large, frontal, and binocular. Secretarybirds have unusually long legs (nearly twice as long as other ground birds of the same body mass), which is thought to be an adaptation for the bird's unique stomping and striking hunting method. These long limbs, though, appear to also lower its running efficiency. Ecophysiologist Steve Portugal and colleagues have hypothesised that the extinct Phorusrhacidae (terror birds) may have employed a hunting technique similar to secretarybirds because they are anatomically similar, although they are not closely related. Secretarybirds rarely encounter other predators, except in the case of tawny eagles, which steal their kills. Eagles mainly steal larger prey and attack secretarybirds as both singles and pairs. Secretarybird pairs are sometimes successful in driving the eagles away and may even knock them down and pin them to the ground.

=== Cultural significance === The secretarybird is depicted on an ivory knife handle recovered from Abu Zaidan in Upper Egypt, dating to the Naqada III culture (circa 3,200 BC). This and other knife handles indicate the secretarybird most likely occurred historically further north along the Nile. |alt=stylized line drawing of bird with outstretched wings]] The secretarybird has traditionally been admired in Africa for its striking appearance and ability to deal with pests and snakes. As such it has often not been disturbed, although this is changing as traditional observances have declined. With its wings outstretched, it represents growth, and its penchant for killing snakes is symbolic as the protector of the South African state against enemies. It is on the emblem of Sudan, adopted in 1969. It is featured on the Sudanese presidential flag and presidential seal. The secretarybird has been a common motif for African countries on postage stamps: over a hundred stamps from 37 issuers are known, including some from stamp-issuing entities such as Ajman, Manama, and the Maldives, regions where the bird does not exist, as well as the United Nations. The Maasai people call it ol-enbai nabo, or "one arrow", referring to its crest feathers. They have used parts of the bird in traditional medicine; its feathers were burnt and the resulting smoke inhaled to treat epilepsy, its eggs were consumed with tea twice daily to treat headaches, and its fat was boiled and drunk for child growth or livestock health. The Xhosa people call the bird inxhanxhosi and attribute great intelligence to it in folklore. The Zulus call it intungunono. German biologist Ragnar Kinzelbach proposed in 2008 that the secretarybird was recorded in the 13th-century work De arte venandi cum avibus by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Described as bistarda deserti, it was mistaken for a bustard. Frederick most likely gained knowledge of the bird from sources in Egypt. The 16th-century French priest and traveller André Thevet also wrote a description of a mysterious bird in 1558 that has been likened by Kinzelbach to this species.

In 1968, the species became protected under the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the secretarybird in 2016 as a vulnerable species and as endangered in 2020, due to a recent rapid decline across its entire range. resulting in loss of open habitat that the species prefers. As a population, the secretarybird is mainly threatened by loss of habitat due to fragmentation by roads and development and overgrazing of grasslands by livestock. Some adaptation to altered areas has been recorded, but overall numbers are declining.

The first successful rearing of a secretarybird in captivity occurred in 1986 at the Oklahoma City Zoo. Although secretarybirds normally build their nests in the trees in the wild, the captive birds at the zoo built theirs on the ground, which left them open to depredation by local wild mammals. To address this problem, the zoo staff removed the eggs from the nest each time they were laid so that they could be incubated and hatched at a safer location. The species has also been bred and reared in captivity at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. In June 2024, a secretarybird chick was successfully hatched at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, born to parents Janine and Kevin, that have lived at the park since 2018. The chick's sex is not yet known, and keepers are providing smaller food items for the protective parents. This successful hatch is seen as a promising step towards establishing a new breeding program for the species at the park.