![]() ![]() It is an ambush predator, which can stay silent for very long period of time while waiting for the prey to appear. Shoebills are known to often behead their prey, before consuming whole. It ends with a nail-like hook, which is used for killing of the prey. Shoebills have the 3rd longest beak in the world, which enables them to hunt extremely large prey, even baby crocodiles.īeak is 9 inches long and 4 inches wide. ![]() It is large and shaped like a shoe, which is the reason why the bird is named "shoebill". The most prominent feature on the shoebill's body is its beak. The shoebill’s flapping when flying is one of the slowest of any birds, at a mere (approx.) 150 flaps per minute. Shoebill has strong neck, long legs and broad wings. The shoebill is piscivorous, primarily eating fish – in particular lungfish, as well as bichirs, tilapia and catfish.īody of shoebill is covered with bluish-grey plumage. It can be almost 5 feet tall, 4 feet long, reaching 1.5 pounds in weight. It is known that shoebill storks are shy animals that prefer to be alone. Shoebill is listed as an endangered species, with no more than 8,000 birds in the wild. Shoebill prefers life in dense tropical swamps, marshes, and wetlands. Shoebills can be found only in eastern parts of Africa, all the way from Sudan to Zambia. It has a general shape somewhat similar to that of a stork and was formerly classified with storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. It owes its name to its huge, shoe-shaped beak. The shoebill, also known as the whalehead, whalehead stork or shoebill stork, is a very large stork-like bird. ![]()
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