Pilansberg Series. This is not a good quality picture.The Secretary bird was quite a distance from our vehicle.I just want to share this one with my friends and Renderosity members. The Secretary Bird, Sagittarius serpentarius, is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannas of the sub-Sahara.[2] Although a member of the order Falconiformes, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards, vultures, and harriers, it is so distinctive that it was given its own family, Sagittariidae. It enjoys a certain fame in Africa, specifically Sudan and South Africa, serving as a prominent emblem on both nations' coats of arms. Showing the feather crest. Showing the feather crest. The Secretary Bird is instantly recognizable as having an eagle-like body on crane-like legs which increases the bird’s height to around 1.3 m (4 ft) tall. This 140 cm (4.5 ft) long bird has an eagle-like head with a hooked bill, but has rounded wings.[3] Body weight averages at about 3.3 kg (7.3 lbs) and the wingspan is over 2 m (6.6 ft).[4] From a distance or in flight it resembles a crane more than a bird of prey. The tail has two elongated central feathers that extend beyond the feet during flight, as well as long flat plumage creating a posterior crest.[3] Secretary Bird flight feathers and thighs are black, while most of the coverts are grey with some being white.[5] Sexes look similar to one another as the species exhibits very little sexual dimorphism, although the male has longer head plumes and tail feathers. Adults have a featherless red face as opposed to the yellow facial skin of the young.[3]