You’ll usually see a distance of at least 65 feet between foraging shoebills.
In general, they are solitary birds who prefer to nest and hunt alone. However, shoebills are very sensitive and have been known to abandon their nests after feeling flustered by human presence. However, those so lucky to have been near a wild shoebill can confirm the bird’s docile presence. With the fierceness in this bird’s appearance, people tend to wonder if they are a threat to approaching humans. It’s not until young shoebills reach about 43 days of age that their beaks are well developed. They are introduced to the world with modestly-sized, grey-colored bills. The upper mandible is prominently keeled with a sharp nail formed at the tip.Ĭhicks are not automatically graced with this exceptional feature, though. Even the circumference of a pelican’s bill can’t keep up with that of a shoebill. Shoebills rock a bill that is the third-longest found amongst extant birds. More specifically, those old-school clogs from Holland - do you see it? Another name that gets tossed around is whalehead, which derives from the bird’s genus name (Balaeniceps rex). The bird got its name for a reason its beak clearly resembles a shoe. Females are smaller than males, falling on the smaller end of the size spectrum. Legs are long, with extended middle toes that help keep the bird upright while standing upon aquatic vegetation. Their wingspans are expansive and ideal for soaring - sometimes stretching past 8 feet. Shoebills are grey-blue and tall, standing between about 43 and 60 inches. In 2003, anatomical and biochemical examinations provided further evidence of shoebills being closely related to pelicans and herons. Like other Pelecaniformes, its shells are covered in a protein membrane called microglobulin.
This was first determined in 1995 during a microscopic analysis performed on shoebill eggshells. Interestingly, shoebills fall in the Pelecaniformes order along with pelicans and herons. The classification was given due to the bird’s general form - but closer examination has refuted this claim.
As mentioned, the shoebill stork is not a stork.
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