Shoebill storks: Is the bird as menacing as it looks?

With yellowish-greyish eyes, and standing 5 feet tall, the shoebill stork is almost always seen motionless. This unique, prehistoric-looking bird, is found in Africa and the east-central continent. They are large-bodied and resemble a ‘Dodo’, the bird that has already gone extinct.

The name shoebill accurately fits this bird because its beak looks like a Dutch clog and is a foot long. Their dark-blue and dark-gray feathers, help them camouflage well in the dense forest. 

One unique fact about the shoebill stork is that it isn’t a stork. They are part of the Balaenicipitidae family. It is the only member of the Balaeniceps genus. 

Shoebills storks prefer being alone and are solitary creatures. They come together to mate but, they prefer not to feed together. They lay up to 3 eggs in one gestation period and mostly it is the oldest shoebill stork that survives.

Even the parents do not care for the younger ones, they are merely backups for when the oldest one does not make it.

These birds are quiet and usually keep to themselves. But the sound of shoebill stork may catch you off guard and may even scare you. They clack their bills together and it sounds like the firearms going off. If you are alone in the forest and hear the sound a shoebill stork makes, you may even mistake it for a shootout.

Despite the scary sound they produce, shoebill storks have been reported to be very docile and gentle with humans but, they are ambush predators who tend to surprise attack their prey. 

They live around freshwater swaps and freshwater marshes. This is their

These birds are often seen just standing still, motionless. This is them waiting for their prey and then suddenly attack. They have been known to feed on mainly fish and water snakes, but they have been caught eating baby crocodiles too.

Shoebills have unfortunately been classified as vulnerable meaning they are at risk of getting endangered. There are approximately 3000- 5300 shoebills today. So, let’s do our best to conserve this unique species and not let it meet the same fate as the Dodo.

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FAQs

1. Are shoe bill storks friendly?

Shoebill storks are not necessarily friendly but, they are very docile towards humans.

2. Are shoe bill storks dinosaurs?

No. shoe bill storks are birds and not dinosaurs.

3. Can a shoebill stork fly?

Yes, a shoebill stork can fly up to 35 to 48 km per hour.

4. How many shoebill storks are left?

There are about 3000-5000 shoebill storks left.

5. What does shoebill eat?

Shoebill storks prey on fish, water snakes, and young crocodiles.