Secretary Bird Fun Facts for Kids

What bird wears a long gray coat and black knee pants? The secretary bird. Well, not really, but the birds’ long gray tail feathers look like a coat and the black leg feathers resemble pants. Secretary birds live in Africa. They can fly, but they spend most of their time on the ground looking for small animals or bugs.

Secretary Bird's Feather Coating Image - Science for Kids All About Secretary Birds — Secretary birds’ long gray tail feathers look like a coat and the black leg feathers resemble pants. Secretary birds live in Africa.

Secretary birds have long legs and can walk up to 20 miles per day. These smart birds mate for life or for many years. Couples work together to build huge nests high in acacia trees. The nests are made from sticks, leaves, animal fur, poop and feathers. Secretary birds lay two or three eggs each summer. When the eggs hatch, the parents feed the babies mashed up insects.

Secretary Bird Eating a Snake Image — All About Secretary Birds: These birds can hunt and kill snakes – even poisonous ones. Secretary birds have thick scales on their legs to protect them from snake bites.

Fun Facts about Secretary Birds for Kids

Secretary birds roost in tall trees at night to sleep.
These birds can hunt and kill snakes – even poisonous ones. Secretary birds have thick scales on their legs to protect them from snake bites. They also puff their feathers out when killing a snake to confuse the animal. The snake might try to bite the feathers instead of the bird.
Secretary birds peck at their prey to kill it or stomp on it with their feet.