5 outstanding facts about the amazing shoebill

4/29/2020

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Nature Story: 5 outstanding facts about the amazing shoebill

This extremely large bird resembles a cross between a pelican, a stork and a dinosaur. Not only does the shoebill have an intimidating look, this creature can really stand up for itself. Let's learn more about this terrifying yet gorgeous bird.

Some quick shoebill facts:

they are endemic to the swamps of Eastern Africa;
they feed on fish, frogs, snakes and baby crocodiles;
shoebills are classified as vulnerable: they suffer from habitat loss, hunting and capture for the zoo trade;
in the wild, they can live up to 25-30 years.

#1 An adult shoebill stands around 1.1 to 1.4 meters (3.6 to 4.5 ft) tall

Nature Story: Shoebill stork size — shutterstock

The tallest recorded individuals reached the height of around 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet)! Despite their large size, shoebills have light bones and weigh between 4 and 7 kg (9 to 15 lbs).

#2 To carry their enormous bodies, shoebills have incredibly large wings

The shoebill's wingspan can reach 2.5 meters (8 feet). Such wings are great for soaring, and the shoebill flaps them only around 150 times per minute, which is one of the slowest flapping rates of the avian kingdom. Shoebills usually don't fly far.

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#3 Their bills with sharp edges are deadly tools

This shoe-shaped bill may look funny or ridiculous, but it's actually a lethal weapon. While hunting, shoebills act very cruelly. They can stay still in the swamp for long periods, for which they are often compared to statues. When the prey is ambushed and taken into the bill, the shoebill decapitates it and swallows the rest of the body.

#4 They only raise the strongest chick

Shoebills are monogamous birds which live in breeding pairs. Though more than one chick is hatched at a time, the shoebills will raise only the strongest one, which is usually the eldest. The chicks start fighting each other very early to be selected.

#5 Being widely known as the 'shoebill stork', the shoebill belongs to the same order as pelicans, not storks

The hamerkop, another very strangely looking bird, is the closest relative of the shoebill.

What does the shoebill sound like? Find out with this video:

The bird makes very few noises and is silent most of the time.

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What are your thoughts on this subject?

12 Comments

Chris Garrett-Petts

Weird noise hay?

Pat Roberts

Thanks to David Attenborough I thought I had seen most creatures on earth. This is one I hadn’t though! Think I will search shoe bill and David Attenborough to see if he has made a programme about them!

Eve

Thank you for teaching me something about this beautiful creature.

Doris Dallaire

A very beautiful bird! I can’t say it’s cruel the way they hunt, no more so than any other animal - including us humans. We breed chickens in small overcrowded enclosures so all they can do is eat and grow quickly, then kill and eat them. We transport animals to the slaughter house and push them onto the trucks even though they know there’s something awful about to happen. We put live lobsters in boiling water to kill and eat them. We are cruel too.

Cindy Ursan

What an absolutely amazing, beautiful creature! Thanks for sharing ❤️

Michael D Smith

Who wouldn’t love to meet one of these amazing birds?

Cindy Ursan

What a beautiful creature!!!

tbear

I would love to see one, for real! What an awesome bird!😊👍

Linda Spreng

garyheaton, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you know. The shoebill may not be the most handsome creature to walk the earth, but he is one of God's creations. And while I wouldn't call him beautiful, I certainly wouldn't call him ugly either.