Here's a little video (with some sadly cheesy narration) showing the shoebill going after the aforementioned lungfish, which, in this clip, has some fight in it. Thank god the shoebill does not want to eat me, because I would be a goner. Jesus christ! The is constantly pouncing and decapitating things with its terrifyingly sharp bill. When there’s nothing but lungfish or crocodile left, the Shoebill will give it a quick decapitation with the sharp edges of the bill (because of course it does) and swallow away. Clamping down on its prey, the bird will start to swing its massive head back and forth, tipping out whatever stuff it doesn’t want to eat. Then the bird will pounce forward, all five feet of it, with its massive bill wide open, engulfing its target along with water, mud, vegetation, and probably any other hapless fish minding their own business. The Shoebill will stand there, motionless as a statue, and wait for some poor lungfish or baby crocodile to swim by. Shoebills are mostly silent as they wait for their prey, but they produce a strange sound that is not common among birds. When shoebill chicks solicit food, their sound is similar to a human with hiccups. These are quick repetitive bursts sounding like a machine gun, or tribal drums beating. This bird eats crocodiles! And they hunt like total bosses of the swamp. The shoebill produces its sound by clapping the lower jaw and upper jaw of its bill together, producing a loud hollow sound. They eat big fish like lungfish, eels, and catfish, and also crazy stuff like Nile monitor lizards, snakes, and baby crocodiles.
Shoebills, which live in the swamps of eastern tropical Africa, are after smaller prey. Though I don’t think I’d go anywhere near one, humans don’t have to worry. And, from what people keep saying, that bird is extremely hardcore. There's a whole bird attached to that shoe. For real.But the shoebill is not just a giant shoe on a face. They don't say much, in fact they're mute most of the time, but when they clatter their bills upon running into another shoebill, or if it's mating season, duck for cover: It sounds just like a machine gun. Fierce in the wild, the dauntless shoebill has been known to fight Nile crocodiles to get to their delicious babies, and to fraternize with hippos whenever possible, as the sheer enormity of hippos forces yummy shoebill snacks to the water's surface. Stoic loners – there are only about 3,300 to 5,300 individuals left in the wild – the shoebill stays mainly in its own bailiwick, flying (a mere 150 flaps per minute) anywhere from 500 to 1,000 feet (152 to 305 meters) at a time, with most flights in the 65-foot (20-meter) range. While the momma shoebill will lay two or three eggs, only one chick will survive, as the eldest offspring has a Darwinian dark side and, alas, kills its siblings. Both partners participate in building their nest, which is a kind of floating barge that can be as large as 10 feet wide (3 meters) and 9 feet (almost 3 meters) deep. and its young can make sounds like hiccups to alert the mature storks they are hungry.
Weighing anywhere from 12 to 15 pounds and standing up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall with a wingspan that can reach 8 feet (over 2 meters), this steely-eyed, aloof and gawky bird hangs out in reedy wetlands where it can nosh on its favorite foods, namely lungfish, tilapia, catfish, frogs, snakes, monitor lizards and baby crocodiles – all of which it can snatch and swallow whole or tear through and decapitate easily with its badass, hollow, pelican-like 7-inch (18-centimeter) beak.Ī monogamous bird that can live up to 35 years, the shoebill finds its mate at a young age and aggressively defends its partner against rivals. (Balaeniceps rex) The Shoebill Stork, A.K.A.
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