According to legend, if a man goes missing in the swamp, the shoebill is to blame. Little wonder that, in its Tanzanian homeland, the shoebill is seen as a bad omen. Staring into this powerful bird’s beady eye – its extraordinary face more African mask than that of a bird – I felt connected for a moment to something old and original, some Ur-presence that both excited and unsettled me. On my side, though, the encounter was unforgettable. Here, in captivity, stared at by the likes of me, Prague Zoo’s fine specimen seemed bored and perhaps a little bemused by the attention. I suspect that, once that tedious ritual is over, they’re glad to get back to what they do best. In the wild, they are formidable hunters, taking not only fish but water snakes and even small crocodiles and, though they do keep company sometimes, it is only for as long as it takes to mate. (Although the zoo is said to hold two breeding pairs, we encountered only a single bird.) This may seem odd, because shoebills don’t do much: they tend to stand very still for long periods of time and, natural solitaries, make it all too clear that they feel nothing but disdain for spectators.
Yet, while the salamanders were suitably sinister-seeming (one had recently bitten off a keeper’s finger when the presumptuous fellow tried to sex it), it was the shoebill who won our hearts. On my last visit to the Czech capital, some 17 years ago, I had avoided the zoo (a general policy before I had children: the sight of animals in captivity depresses my spirits, even when the zoo is humane and well designed) but the prospect of a giant salamander – supposedly, the inspiration for Karel Capek’s feverish sci-fi classic War with the Newts – and what might well be the most enigmatic of all birds, forced me to set aside my misgivings. Usually, when I visit a city, my first port of call is whatever passes for a botanical garden but when he told me that Prague’s zoo contained not only giant salamanders but also two pairs of shoebills, I could not resist the temptation. RELATED ARTICLE: Meet these Adorable Round Birds that Can Do Perfect Splits!Ĭheck out more news and information on Birds on Science Times.A few days ago, my son, Lucas, and I took the train to Prague for his school break. 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.
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