Filipino Secretary Bird is an unknown bird of Southeast Asia. Feathers longer on the lower portion of the crest. Outermost tail feath-ers longer than the inner feathers.No known species of secretary bird exists outside Africa.
Significant sighting[]
French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat visited the Philippines from 1771 to 1772 and reported the existence of a large bird of prey similar to the secretary bird of sub-Saha-ran Africa.
Possible explanations[]
- Specimens of the African Secretary bird(Sagittarius serpentarius), a long-legged,crested, eaglelike bird, may have been bought to the Philippines by traders.
- Sonnerat might have heard secondhand accounts of the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), which was unknown in the eighteenth century.