Sagittarius serpentarius
Silhouette: Danielle Alba · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The secretarybird or secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large bird of prey that is endemic to Africa. It is mostly terrestrial, spending most of its time on the ground, and is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller described the species in 1779. A member of the order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal birds of prey such as eagles, hawks, kites, vultures, and harriers, it is placed in its own family, the Sagittariidae.
The secretarybird is instantly recognizable as a very large bird with an eagle-like body on crane-like legs that give the bird a height of as much as 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in). The sexes are similar in appearance. Adults have a featherless, red-orange face and predominantly grey plumage, with a flattened dark crest and black flight feathers and thighs.
Breeding can take place at any time of year, but tends to be late in the dry season. The nest is built at the top of a thorny tree, and a clutch of one to three eggs is laid. In years with plentiful food, all three young can survive to fledging. The secretarybird hunts and catches prey on the ground, often stomping on victims to kill them. Insects and small vertebrates make up its diet.
Although the secretarybird resides over a large range, the results of localized surveys suggest that the total population is experiencing a rapid decline, probably as a result of habitat destruction. The species is therefore classed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The secretarybird appears on the coats of arms of South Africa and Sudan. Wikipedia →
Courtship at nest site0:34
South Africa · 2017
© Niall Perrins · XC391856 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Secretary Bird sighting in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, based on 65 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 106th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, May, July and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Secretary Bird in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Secretary Bird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
16th of 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Secretary Bird sightings, Pilanesberg National Park ranks 16th at about 10%. The best odds are in Serengeti National Park (Tanzania, about 50%), Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya, about 40%) and Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Accipitriformes
The closest relatives of the Secretary Bird that you can see in Pilanesberg National Park (order Accipitriformes, Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies) are Black-winged Kite (about 40%), African Fish-Eagle (about 30%) and Gabar Goshawk (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Secretary Bird is recorded against all the birds logged in Pilanesberg National Park (65 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
