in typical inhabitant of Africa's savanna-landscapes south from the desert-regions and the 130-140 cm long secretary is with exception of west-Africa's equatorial rain-forests. With 1 m of stand-height (females usually somewhat smaller) and its extremely long runs, this ground-inhabitant resembles more than a gripping-bird a crane ("crane-vultures"). The systematic assignment of the secretaries was controversial longer time; also today, some authors place it into an independent order of the birds.
Food-acquisition Since secretaries frequently carry off snakes - also quite big copies and poison-snakes - and probably only very rarely are hurt on that occasion, many legends about these odd birds were created. However, secretaries are not insensitive against the poisonous saliva of its loot-animals but catch snakes very deft and careful, so that they remain outside the reach of the fangs. They try with fast, powerful steps of its hard toes, the loot, to shatter the spinal column; also, vehement flaps keep away the snakes of the sensitive body-parts. As soon as loot-animals are no more fully mobile or dead through the steps, the secretaries seize it with its powerful beaks. Also many other reptiles, small vertebrates (rodents) and special insects (locusts) are fitting to the food-offer of these birds in large quantities why they are protected in most African countries. For usually, secretaries move in pairs or in small family-associations through the grass and brushland-ships; in bigger surface-fires, however, quite a lot of bird appears from time to time in order to intercept them before the fire of fleeing small animals.
As well as this at quills behind the ear of a scribbler reminding extended head-feathers of the secretaries, which the birds can set up with arousal to an impressive bonnet, also as the "solemnly" appearing attitude of these gripping-birds yielded them its name.
With danger, they escape fast on foot and only in allergrößter need, secretaries finally fly up.
Brood-biology The brood-period of the "crane-vultures" lasts in the northern Africa (Sudan) of July until October and from August in Malawi and in the south that of continent until September. Both partners erect an extensive nest from branches and clay in the flat crown of a savanna-tree or in the shrubbery, occasionally also in the branch-work of higher trees, together. The lining of the Nistmulde with fresh grass and leaves is typical of gripping-birds. One brood-pair retains the same precinct long time and often uses also the eyrie consecutively several years.
Secretaries usually put 2 (more rarely also 3) whitens, shiny eggs (8x5,8 cm), that quite variably in size and form and from time to time also bay patterned is. Probably mainly the female bird erbrütet approximately for 6 weeks the (42, also 45 days of brood-duration are known) nest, until the white Dunenjungen slip. Both parents atzen the nestlings from the crop, until the squabs in the age of 12-14 weeks finally leave the nest.
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