Shoebill

One of the most bizarre creatures you can ever lay your eyes upon

The shoebill gets its name from its huge bill, which looks like a shoe. It is also called the whale-headed stork. It is a unique bird that looks like it belongs to an era past. They vaguely resemble storks, pelicans, hamerkops, and herons.

The shoebill is only found in Africa. It lives in places with a lot of papyrus grass and large reed swamps. It can also be found in flooded marshes with plants that float on the water, but papyrus is its favorite food.

It lives and breeds in the tropical eastern African countries of Zambia, Sudan, and western Ethiopia. They usually eat at night when the water is shallow. It stays still, like a heron waiting for a meal. Then, it attacks quickly and hard when it finds and picks its prey. The bird grabs its prey out of the water with a hooked bill that quickly grabs, crushes, and pierces.

Distribution

Country
Population est.
Status
Year
Comments
Central Af. Rep.
2018
DR Congo (Kinshasa)
2018
Ethiopia
2018
Non-Breeding
Rwanda
2018
South Sudan
2018
Sudan
2018
Tanzania
2018
Uganda
2018
Zambia
2018

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Terrestrial / Aquatic

Altricial / Precocial

Polygamous / Monogamous

Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic

Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal

Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Herd

Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore

Migratory: Yes / No

Domesticated: Yes / No

Dangerous: Yes / No