Shoebills

Nature 3 Minutes

They have a prehistoric-like appearance

At times, and from certain angles, they can appear rather menacing, peering down their long, razor-sharp beak, with a hook at the tip.

They can also be extremely cute, and almost ‘cartoon-like’. They have striking pale, blue-eyed genes, which can make them appear not really real.

They are truly unique and beautiful birds.

The shoebill’s flapping when flying is one of the slowest of any birds, at a mere (approx.) 150 flaps per minute

Only larger stalk species have slower flapping than the shoebill.

They have the 3rd longest beak in the world, which enables them to hunt extremely large prey, even baby crocodiles

Their beaks can reach up to 7.4 to 9.4 inches in width, which helps them hunt for fish or snakes as long as 3.2 feet in size.

The razor-sharp edges of its beak, allow it to decapitate their prey quickly

They are known to often behead their prey, before consuming whole.

A shoebill can often benefit from the presence of hippos, which disturb fish, and bulldoze paths through swamps

The shoebill can take advantage of the disturbed fish in the water and strike.

The shoebill is an ambush predator

They often stand still for long periods, motionless like a statue, before launching a vicious attack to kill any prey that come within strike distance.

The shoebill often feeds at night, and is also known to stand on floating vegetation to hunt their prey.

The shoebill favors areas of poorly oxygenated water

This causes the fish living in the water to surface for air more often, which increases the likelihood of the shoebill striking and capturing its prey.

They clatter their bills which like a machine gun

The shoebill is usually silent, but they are known to clatter their bills loudly during courtship or greeting, which can sound a little like a machine gun.

Bill-clattering is a behavior of real storks. They can also let out a high-pitched whine, and even make cow-like ‘moo’ noises.

Shoebill are solitary in their breeding habits, with typically less than 3 nests per square kilometer

The nesting shoebill will vigorously defend their territory between 1 to 1.5 square miles from other shoebill, and large birds.

Shoebills chicks often bully, fight and can kill their siblings (known as ‘siblicide’) when only a few weeks old

Rather disturbingly, this is actually rather common in larger birds.

Often the older, and bigger chick, can hurt a smaller chick, while their parents are away from the nest eventually driving it to live away from the nest. Research suggests, this is due to energy efficiency and survival of the fittest.

The shoebill female always lays two eggs, but only one ever survives

The second egg is seen like a ‘back up’, in case anything is wrong with the first egg. Usually the first to hatch survives only.

The shoebill has long fascinated civilizations

They appear in wall paintings and hieroglyphics of ancient Egyptians, and it’s old Arabic name is Abu-markub, or ‘Father of a Slipper’. This name is in reference to the birds very distinctive beak.

Sadly, the demand for shoebill storks is high

Both in zoos, or for private collectors. There are reports that they can sell for US $10,000-$20,000, making them the most expensive birds in the zoo trade.

The high price encourages shady traders to capture the shoebill and sell to zoos or middle men – reducing the wild population size further. Shoebills rarely breed in captivity.

They are incredibly rare

Birding enthusiasts have to pay local expert guides to go on specialist shoebill tours and safaris, to try and get a glimpse of the elusive, sought after birds in the wild.

This involves going way off the beaten track and into the swamps which they inhabit.

SOURCE: FACT ANIMAL

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Published by pat frederick

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209 thoughts on “Shoebills”

      1. Oh, no, Pat! Not at all….I saved a bunch over the last couple of days, just for a change….get back to my old smartass self for a little while…😁😁😁😁😁😛😜😝🙃

        Liked by 1 person

  18. the name rings a bell but that’s about it…

    Patience
    July 25, 2023 3:44 pm

    Death Notice: 🥲

    https://www.mccomasfuneralhome.com/obituaries/ryan-white-jon-mcgreevy
    https://cdn.tukioswebsites.com/obituary_profile_photo/md/c4141db5-dcbc-468b-9725-bb33b0a1502c

    https://www.mccomasfuneralhome.com/obituaries/ryan-white-jon-mcgreevy

    aka: Johnheretohelp (Twitter)

    Read the comments at his obituary page.

    -What a wonderful man who gave soooo much to save America & her people.

    -God Bless you Jon

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well, um……

      EXCERPT: “A candidate for the U.S. Senate lied about a young girl being sexually abused, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland. Ryan Dark White, aka Dr. Jon McGreevey, 54, was arrested Friday on false statement charges, say deputies.

      “On April 13, 2022, detectives with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office received information regarding child sex trafficking occurring at an adult bookstore in the 3000 block of Pulaski Highway, Edgewood,” deputies said. “Detectives identified an employee of the business, Ryan Dark White, a.k.a. Dr. Jon McGreevey, 54, a candidate for United States Senate, as the source of the information.”

      White (running under the name Jon McGreevey) is among the pool of Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in Maryland. The primary is scheduled for Tuesday. “The information provided to detectives claimed an older adult male was in the business with a young girl, 10-12 years of age, forcing the child to perform sexual acts on male customers,” deputies said. But no one who purportedly saw this incident issued a formal report with the sheriff’s office, deputies said.

      “Detectives conducted interviews, followed leads, gathered digital evidence, and identified the adult male and juvenile female mentioned in the initial complaint,” deputies said. “On July 7, 2022, detectives interviewed White. The investigation revealed at no time were any sex acts performed or offered by any of the individuals in the establishment as reported by White.”

      Detectives arrested White without incident on Friday, authorities said.

      “​It is shameful that a candidate for public office would make up such a story and use it to further his own political agenda,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler said. “It is even more appalling, that another individual, who is running for a law enforcement position, would embrace such an obviously false narrative in an effort to gain political traction – nothing more.”

      https://lawandcrime.com/crime/gop-candidate-for-u-s-senate-made-a-false-report-about-young-girl-being-abused-in-adult-bookstore-sheriff/

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ll be honest…..as far as I’m concerned, Europeans are spoiled rotten lazy people! From what I understand, they work a paltry number of hours every day and take months off at a time to go on grand tours and vacations. And they don’t want to work! If they do take a job, they expect unreasonable time off and insanely high salaries. YMMV but…..I’ve thought that for a very long time.

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Depending on the temp when I get up tomorrow, I may be jumping in the shower and heading to Norfolk w/o even signing on. If it’s already mid-70’s then I want to try to get there and back by 10:30 or so, before the heat gets really bad.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

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