Strange Feathered Fruit – Secretary Bird, Kruger Park, 2007

Hi All

another record image from the archives, this a grab shot of a Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) that appeared suddenly next to my car while on a trip through the Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2007. These increasingly rare raptors never cease to amaze me — they have the head of an eagle with an American Indian headdress, the legs and body of a stork, the talons of a hawk and an appetite to match. They prefer to hunt by walking kilometres across the African veld, stamping small rodents and reptiles to death when they find them, although they’re adept at soaring high on midday thermals when the need arises.