After last week’s Bearded Vulture, it seemed like a good time to feature another misfit from the Raptor family. Please check your socks are firmly affixed, for they are about to be knocked off by this week’s bird, the Secretary Bird (Sagittarius Serpentarius). Most famed for being the answer to what would happen if you crossed an Eagle with a Stork.
These birds are all about the flair and drama. Check out those legs that don’t even know how to quit, not to mention that impressive crest.
They roam the plains of Africa, looking for their favourite prey, snakes. For they have evolved to be the perfect snake killing machine. First, their long legs help to keep them out of striking distance. Second, when they approach a snake they flair out their wings to act as a discretion. They pull the snake’s focus away from their body providing them with an opening to smack it in the face with their powerful feet.
Third, they have a stomping force some five times greater than their weight, which means when they hit something, it dies. Fourth, they can kick faster than the snake’s own reaction time. And fifth, some studies have also shown that they are at least partially immune to snake venom. So yeah, they’re all about murdering snakes.
Next up, you might be wondering why they’re called Secretary Birds. And no, they don’t head up government departments, and no, they won’t type up your letters. It’s not really known why they’re called Secretary Birds. They were originally called Sagittarius Birds, named after the mythical archer because of their deadly ways and the fact that their crests looked a little like arrow fletching. Somewhere along the way the name just changed… probably a typo, who can say?
Finally, here’s a question for all the ladies out there (and maybe some men too, no judgement). Have you ever been jealous of a bird’s eyelashes before? Well, you’re about to be. Check out these lushes lashes.
Secretary birds have the best eyelashes getting around.
These pretty lashes aren’t just for fluttering coyly, oh no. It’s speculated that they evolved to help keep the dust that they kick up when stamping on things out of their eyes. Which, you know, seems like a legit reason.
19/04/2020
Bird of the Week 