Random Terrifying Facts About Shoebill (10 items)

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  (#12) One Shoebill Absolutely Demands Respect

  Just in case you had any doubts about the kind of respect that the shoebill demands from the people and animals around it, check out this Ugandan shoebill named Sushi. Sushi is available for petting at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe, but he won’t let anyone just walk right up to him. Sushi demands that anyone aiming to stroke his feathers bow before they approach him.

  Says amateur photographer Mark Dudley, “Shoebill ttorks are very large and can cause a lot of damage if they wanted to, so it’s important to observe ‘his’ rules.”
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  (#3) Shoebills Eat The Stuff Of Your Nightmares

  Just take a few, brief moments to think about all the slippery, slimy, scary terrors of the natural world swimming and squirming through the darkest corners of your mind. You’re picturing crocodiles and eels and lungfish (even if you didn’t know they existed, you definitely are). Too bad those are the kinds of critters that the shoebill absolutely loves to munch down on. 

  That’s right, the shoebill will happily go to town on a freaking crocodile if the thing happens to cross its path.
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  (#6) The Shoebill Is So Solitary That It Rarely Makes A Noise

  While several species of bird have begun flocking together as a means to overcome their individual weaknesses, the shoebill doesn’t have that problem. As a result, the bird spends the majority of its time in solitude, only joining other members of its species to reproduce.

  What’s more, the bird is also largely mute. Shoebill storks will go days at a time without making a single sound beyond the rustle of their feathers as they take flight and land.
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  (#4) They’re So Patient You Won’t Even Realize They’re Alive Until It’s Too Late

  Shoebill storks are masters of patience. They’ll sit in the water for hours on end, sometimes submerged up to their waists, as the creepy crawlies swim around them, poor things unaware of the grim fate that peers down at them from above.

  Then, suddenly, the shoebill will lunge forward, driving its razor-sharp bill into the silt, totally engulfing its victim (along with a bunch of dirt, water, and kelp). The shoebill clamps down, lifts its giant head, and starts swinging its bill back and forth, sifting out the stuff it doesn’t want to actually eat before dining.
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  (#8) They Sh*t On Themselves To Keep Their Cool

  Anyone who’s had the bad fortune of catching a little bird excrement on their hair or body knows that it’s mostly liquid. The shoebill stork’s poo is no different. What’s frightening is that the stork actually uses its droppings to keep itself cool.

  Okay, so the blood pumping through a shoebill’s legs is warm. When the shoebill goes on itself, the warm blood underneath cools down. This results in a cooler stork. A cooler stork with sh*t on its legs and the piercing eyes of a demon.
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  (#2) The Shoebill Does Something Awful To Its Prey

  That goofy-looking bill clapped onto the front of the shoebill’s face may look like a cruel joke of evolution, but it’s actually a lethal tool. Sure, it also looks like a shoe, a fact that has not been lost on any of the civilizations that have run across the beast. The Arabs called it Abu-Markhub, or “father of a slipper.” However, that bill is not to be trifled with.

  After taking its prey's body into its beak, the shoebill opens its bill just enough for its victim to poke its head out. Then, the shoebill clamps down again with its knife-edged beak and removes its prey's head before swallowing the rest.

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