![]() ![]() On his expedition in Africa to find the source of the White Nile in 1840, Werne camped at Lake No, part of a 12,000-square-mile wetland called the Sudd in what is now South Sudan. European naturalists were introduced to shoebills in the 1840s.Ī German diplomat and explorer named Ferdinand Werne was the first European to hear about the shoebill. In fact, this characteristic confused taxonomists: In the past, some felt that the shoebill’s habit placed it within the family of true storks, since all true storks also use their own droppings to cool off. Shoebills practice urohydrosis, the effective-if revolting-habit of defecating on their legs to lower their body temperature. More recent studies on the shoebill's eggshell structure and DNA have supported its place among the Pelecaniformes. “There is, in fact, not the shadow of a doubt that it is either a heron or a stork but the question is, which?” zoologist Frank Evers Beddard wrote in 1905. Others countered that herons have specialized feathers than release a powdery down to help with preening, but shoebills didn’t have these feathers, so they must be storks belonging to the family Ciconiiformes. Some taxonomists said that the shoebill's syrinx, or vocal organ, resembled those of herons belonging to the family Pelecaniformes, which also includes ibises, pelicans, and boobies. Over the past couple of centuries, naturalists have debated where shoebills should appear on the Tree of Life. Shoebills may be more closely related to pelicans than storks. Complemented by their golden eyes, the posture affects a very convincing death stare. Shoebills can stand virtually motionless for hours with their bills held down against their necks. You really can’t mistake them for any other bird: They grow 4 to 5 feet tall, have bluish-gray plumage and an 8-plus-foot wingspan, and their bill, which takes up a majority of their face, looks like a huge Dutch wooden clog. ![]() Shoebills live in the vast wetlands of the Nile watershed in eastern Africa. Shoebill storks could win staring contests. ![]() But there are a lot of misconceptions about shoebill storks-the first being that they're not actually storks. These stately wading birds stalk the marshes of South Sudan, Uganda, and elsewhere in tropical East Africa, snatching up prey with their unique, immediately recognizable bills. RELATED ARTICLE: Meet these Adorable Round Birds that Can Do Perfect Splits!Ĭheck out more news and information on Birds on Science Times.Shoebill storks have been called the world’s most terrifying bird (though the cassowary might disagree). Sadly, their numbers continue to go down as they lose their habitats because lands are cleared for pasture. However, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has classified the shoebill as vulnerable species with only between 3,300 and 5,300 adults left in the world. They sit on their eggs for at least 30 days to hatch. Although solitary in nature, both male and female shoebill participate in the development of their young, this includes incubating, turning the eggs, and cooling them with water. They only mate during the dry season to avoid the crowding of nests, and once it is over, they separate from each other. It is very rare to see two or more shoebill storks being next to each other. Even when they are paired or have mated, they still hunt and eat alone and away from their partners. As for chicks, they make a hiccup-like sound that indicates they are hungry.ĪLSO READ: Fun Fact: Is This A Creepy Bird With Multiple Legs? Apparently Not!Īccording to Africa Freak, shoebill storks are very territorial, so they live in solitary. They clap their lower jaw and upper jaw together to produce a hollow sound. Shoebills are able to make this sound using a technique known as gular fluttering or the vibrating of the throat muscles to dissipate heat. Shoebill makes this loud bill-clattering display to attract a partner although it may sound scary to humans, it sounds attractive to these birds, especially during nesting season. It is very loud and scary that sounds like a hippopotamus calling. This "bill-clattering behavior" is also observed when they are greeting another bird. Shoebills are mostly silent as they wait for their prey, but they produce a strange sound that is not common among birds.ĭuring nesting, the adult shoebill makes awesome machine gun noises, Africa Freak reported. According to Soothing Nature, this fishing technique is called "collapsing," wherein it involves lunging or falling forward to their prey.īut that is not the only amazing thing about them. By the time a lungfish comes up for air, it would be already too late to notice this lethal prehistoric-looking bird. Shoebill can stay motionless for many hours so that it will not get noticed by its prey. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |