INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE SHOEBILL

• The shoebill stork is named for its enormous, shoe-shaped bill, which is broad and has a sharp hook at the end. Its bill is one of the largest among birds, measuring up to 24 cm in length.
• It is a large bird, standing about 110 to 140 cm tall, with a wingspan of 2.3 to 2.6 meters and weighing between 4 to 7 kg. Males tend to be larger than females.
• Shoebills have a prehistoric, dinosaur-like appearance with grey feathers, yellow eyes, and a white belly in adults; chicks have bluish-grey feathers.
• They are solitary birds, rarely found in groups except when food is scarce. Even breeding pairs forage separately within their territory.
• Shoebills are expert hunters, often standing motionless for long periods to ambush prey such as lungfish, frogs, snakes, snails, rodents, baby crocodiles, and occasionally even baby antelopes. They exploit poorly oxygenated water pools where fish must surface for air, making hunting easier.
• They benefit from living near hippos, which create channels and stir up fish, aiding the shoebill's hunting.
• Shoebills perform a unique "egg-watering" behavior, where a parent wets the nest and rolls the eggs to keep them cool.
• They have slow wing flapping (about 150 flaps per minute) and soar on thermals to travel.
• Their conservation status is vulnerable due to habitat loss and poaching, but efforts in places like Mabamba Swamp help protect them.
• Despite their stork-like appearance, shoebills are more closely related to pelicans and hamerkops than to true storks.

These fascinating traits make the shoebill stork a unique and captivating bird of East Africa's swamps and marshes.