This incredible creature is one of the strangest birds on planet Earth. Shoebills reach up to five feet in height and are intimidating ambush predators. They hunt by standing still in swamps before suddenly lunging forward to swallow their prey whole with enormous bills....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
They are typically found in the marshes and swamps in East Africa, and eat fish and reptiles. The shoebill also boats the third largest bird beak in the world, at one foot long. This pre-historic-looking and menacing bird can grow up to five foot, or 1.5 meters, tall.
According to a 2015 study which was published in the Journal of African Ornithology, catfish are its most common prey, making up approximately 71 per cent of its meals.
Nevertheless, the shoebill tends to gorge on eels, snakes and even baby crocodiles. The birds are typically solitary creatures, however breeding pairs are monogamous and lay nearly three eggs in a clutch.
However, due to rivalry between siblings, only one tends to survive into adulthood. Normally this is the larger first-born, which will either out-compete any siblings for foods, or kill them.
The second or third chicks are spares that act as a backup if the first one doesn’t survive.. The behaviour was captured in a clip from the BBC David Attenborough series ‘Africa’, revealing the older chick biting at its younger sibling.
The mother goes back to the nest, and the chick does not show any care to it’s smaller offspring. Whilst incorrectly called a stork, the shoebill is the only member of the Balaeniceps genus and the wider family Balaenicipitidae, with is closest living relatives being pelicans.
145 to 66 million years ago, its ancestors formed the Pelecaniformes order at the end of the Cretaceous period. The large-beaked bird is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List, with just 5,000 to 8,000 birds remaining..CONTINUE READING>>
