Random Terrifying Facts About Shoebill (10 items)

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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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  (#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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  (#9) They Hide In Vegetation That’s Taller Than You

  Shoebills are notoriously picky about where they live, nesting only in extremely large, dense swampland. Essentially what that means is that these guys build their homes in an area you can only reach with a machete.

  Just imagine tromping through underbrush that reaches above your head only to accidentally stumble upon the nest or mating ground of one of these bad boys. It would not go well.
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  (#5) The Shoebill Stork Can Literally Stare You In The Eyes

  Though not a very meaty bird (even the biggest of the species top out at 16 pounds), the shoebill stork is still extremely large. They routinely reach nearly five feet in height, and their wings can stretch to more than seven feet in width.

  Add to that physical stature the creature’s famous glassy stare, and you’ve concocted one intimidating stork.
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  (#1) Shoebill Chicks Will Take Each Other Out

  Shoebills are extremely shy creatures, so scientists and ornithologists have very little video footage of shoebills doing their thing. So, when one adventurous crew ventured into the territory of a shoebill, they were thrilled to find a nest with two hatchlings alone and untended.

  Of course, what happened next was horrific.

  In the nest were two chicks that had been born five days apart. As a result, one of the two chicks was noticeably larger than the other chick. The larger bird was not only favored by the parent, but it also viciously pecked at the smaller chick until the bird was driven from the nest to shrivel in the sun and pass away. Talk about a sibling rivalry.
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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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