• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A2acde+3cde+4acde	A2acde+3cde+4acde

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Endangered	A2acde+3cde+4acde
2016	Vulnerable	A4acd
2012	Vulnerable	A4acd
2011	Vulnerable	A4a,c,d
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	nomadic	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	4,017 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	23,200,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	6700-67000 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2001
Population trend	decreasing	poor	inferred	1994-2022
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	70-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	70-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	70-79%	-	-	-
Generation length	9.3 years	-	-	-

Population justification: Although the species occurs across a vast range, surveyed densities suggest that the total population size does not exceed a five-figure number.

Trend justification: Large declines have been reported throughout the species's range, including the Sahel region of Mali, Niger, and Burkino Faso (Thiollay, 2001, R. Buij, unpublished data), Cameroon (Thiollay, 2006), Kenya (Ogada et al. 2020 in prep.), Botswana (Garbett et al,. 2018), Estwatini (Monadiem et al. 2003) and South Africa (Hofmeyr et al. 2014). On the basis of this evidence the species is inferred to be undergoing rapid declines overall.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Angola	extant	native	yes
Benin	extant	native	yes
Botswana	extant	native	yes
Burkina Faso	extant	native	yes
Burundi	extant	native	yes
Cameroon	extant	native	yes
Central African Republic	extant	native	yes
Chad	extant	native	yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	extant	native	yes
Côte d'Ivoire	extant	native	yes
Djibouti	extant	native	yes
Eritrea	extant	native	yes
Eswatini	extant	native	yes
Ethiopia	extant	native	yes
Gambia	extant	native	yes
Ghana	extant	native	yes
Guinea-Bissau	extant	uncertain
Kenya	extant	native	yes
Lesotho	extant	native	yes
Liberia	extant	vagrant
Malawi	extant	native	yes
Mali	extant	native	yes
Mauritania	extant	native	yes
Mozambique	extant	native	yes
Namibia	extant	native	yes
Niger	extant	native	yes
Nigeria	extant	native	yes
Rwanda	extant	vagrant
Senegal	extant	native	yes
Somalia	extant	native	yes
South Africa	extant	native	yes
South Sudan	extant	native	yes
Sudan	extant	native	yes
Tanzania	extant	native	yes
Togo	extant	native	yes
Uganda	extant	native	yes
Zambia	extant	native	yes
Zimbabwe	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Kenya	Kirisia Forest
Kenya	Nairobi National Park
South Africa	Amatola - Katberg Mountain
South Africa	Benfontein
South Africa	Blyde River Canyon
South Africa	Botsalano Nature Reserve
South Africa	Devon Grasslands
South Africa	Grasslands
South Africa	iSimangaliso Wetland Park
South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal Mistbelt Grasslands
South Africa	Upper Orange River

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Savanna	Dry	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Nomadic grazing	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Medicine - human & veterinary	national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/secretarybird-sagittarius-serpentarius on 26/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 26/12/2024.