Random Terrifying Facts About Shoebill (10 items)

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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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#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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  (#7) When It Does Make Noise, It Sounds Like A Machine Gun

  When it’s time for the shoebill to get down with a member of the opposite sex, they track a potential mate to a specific spot and then make a resounding clapping noise with their bill, simultaneously attracting a mate and scaring the sh*t out of any small creatures in the vicinity.

  Once the kids get popped out, the parents only stick around long enough to make sure that one of their brood has the basics covered. At that point, Mom and Dad leave the chick to its own devices, taking off to parts unknown.
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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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  (#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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  (#10) They Can Survive For More Than 35 Years

  The shoebill’s life isn’t just brutal; it’s long, too. The storks begin their lives in a nest that their parents built among the shadier parts of a swamp. Though female shoebills can lay up to three eggs, typically only one member of each clutch actually survives.

  The shoebill will get guidance from its parents for the first few months of its life. They typically start hunting with supervision around the age of 3 and a half months. Interaction with other members of the species is uncommon, as the shoebills only place about three nests for every square kilometer.

  Shoebills start reproducing at 3 years old, and they can survive in the wild under good conditions for more than 35 years. 
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  (#11) They Remained Undetected Until The 1850s

  Ancient Arabs and Egyptians had a reverence for the shoebill that made its way into the art of both cultures. Beyond those initial sightings, however, the bird remained uncatalogued by many Western societies until midway through the 19th century. 

  This speaks to the bird’s natural ability to avoid contact with humankind. A species of stork that had a natural range of more than 2 million square kilometers managed to avoid thousands of ornithologists combing the area for new species.
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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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