Shoebill Stork Royalty-Free Stock Image

Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) type of bird Shoebill is a carnovore bird Average life span in the wild is 35 yearsAverage life span in captivity is about 50 yearsShoebill weighs around 11 pounds (females) and 12 pounds (males)IUCN Red list status is VUNERABLE, Current population trend is decreasingShoebill is unique because of its foot-long bill that resembles a Dutch clog. The bill is Tan with brown splotches, The bill is five inches wide and has sharp edges and a sharp hook on the end. Its specialized bill allows the shoebill to grab large prey, including lungfish, tilapia, eels, and snakes. It even snacks on baby crocodiles and Nile monitor lizards. At first glance, shoebills don’t seem like they could be ambush predators. Reaching up to five feet tall with an eight-foot wingspan, shoebills have yellow eyes, gray feathers, white bellies, and a small feathered crest on the back of their heads. They also have long, thin legs with large feet Feet that are ideal for walking on the vegetation in the freshwater marshes and swamps they inhabit in East Africa, from Ethiopia and South Sudan to Zambia. Shoebills can stay motionless for hours The birds practice a hunting technique called “collapsing,” which involves lunging or falling forward on their prey. Shoebills are in a family all their own, though they were once classified as storks. Shoebills sometimes engage in bill-clattering, a sound made as a greeting and during nesting They keep cool with a technique called gular fluttering—vibrating the throat muscles to dissipate heat