How does it kill snakes?

By dropping them from a height only

What did a 2016 study measure?

The force and speed of its kicks

Secretary Bird Quiz: The Snake-Stomping Raptor on Long Legs

This secretary bird quiz strides across the African grasslands with the eagle on stilts. Play 10 interactive questions on its long legs, hunting on foot, lightning-fast kicks that stun snakes, a 2016 study measuring their force, the quill-like crest behind the name, its place on the coats of arms of South Africa and Sudan, and its endangered status.

Start Secretary Bird Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Continent
Where do secretary birds live?
Type
What kind of bird is the secretary bird?
Legs
What is unusual about its body?
Hunt
How does it usually hunt?
Kick
How does it kill snakes?
Study
What did a 2016 study measure?
Name
What may explain the bird's name?
Prey
What else does it eat?
Arms
Which country's coat of arms features a secretary bird?
Status
What is its conservation status?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where do secretary birds live?
Answer: Africa
They live in open grasslands.
Q2: What kind of bird is the secretary bird?
Answer: A bird of prey
It is a raptor.
Q3: What is unusual about its body?
Answer: Very long legs
It looks like an eagle on stilts.
Q4: How does it usually hunt?
Answer: On foot
It walks long distances.
Q5: How does it kill snakes?
Answer: By stomping and kicking them
Strikes are very fast.
Q6: What did a 2016 study measure?
Answer: The force and speed of its kicks
Kicks lasted milliseconds.
Q7: What may explain the bird's name?
Answer: Its quill-like crest feathers
Clerks once tucked quill pens behind ears.
Q8: What else does it eat?
Answer: Insects, lizards and small mammals
It is not picky.
Q9: Which country's coat of arms features a secretary bird?
Answer: South Africa
Sudan's emblem also shows it.
Q10: What is its conservation status?
Answer: Endangered
Habitat loss is a key threat.

The Eagle on Stilts

The secretary bird lives in the open grasslands of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a bird of prey with very long legs, often described as an eagle on stilts, and it usually hunts on foot, walking long distances through the grass.

It kills snakes by stomping and kicking them with lightning speed. A 2016 study found its kicks strike with great force in just milliseconds, so precise aim protects it from bites. It also eats insects, lizards and small mammals.

Its name may come from its crest of quill-like feathers, recalling clerks who tucked quill pens behind their ears. The bird appears on the coats of arms of South Africa and Sudan. It is now listed as endangered because of habitat loss.

What This Quiz Teaches

Bird fans will enjoy these questions.

Where it lives
How it hunts
How its kicks work
Where its name comes from
Which countries honor it

Did You Know?

It nests on top of acacia trees.
It can fly well despite walking a lot.
Orange facial skin surrounds its eyes.
Pairs share large territories.
Its legs are covered in scales.