![]() ![]() Taller than a mailbox, with an eight-foot wingspan, the shoebill is quite a kick to observe! This hefty bird with its lesson-in-gray plumage is endemic to swamps and wetlands of Central and East Africa. Solitary in nature, even when paired with another, the birds like their space and will feed at opposite ends of their territory.īut what really gives the shoebill a leg up is its big, bulbous bill, which serves many purposes. Over 7 inches (19 centimeters) long, and nearly as wide, it is also cavernous inside-and a handy container for fish prey, as well as water to douse its eggs or chicks with, as needed. Oh, and it’s a musical instrument! Shoebills perform bill clapping to drive away interlopers and woo mates males and females have different tones to their “clapping.”Ī league of its own. Once classified as a stork-shoebill stork or whale-headed stork-it is now in a Family of its own: Balaenicipitidae. It shares some behavioral and anatomical characteristics with storks, but it is more like herons (Ardeidae), with its powder-downs (a special type of down feathers located on the breast and belly) and its habit of flying with its neck retracted. Further muddying the waters, the shoebill’s mighty skull resembles that of pelicans, but that could be due to convergent evolution and both birds’ violent method of fishing (see Diet section below).īig bird. ![]() Shoebills are large-bodied, sturdy birds. A soothing combination of blue-gray, dark gray, and slate color make up most of its plumage. The belly is white, with some elongated feathers on the breast, with dark, contrasting shafts. It has a small, shaggy nuchal crest and piercing eyes that are yellowish or grayish-white. Its unusual large, splotchy bill has sharp edges, which help in the swift decapitation of prey, and also in separating out vegetation that may be grabbed with the fish. The upper mandible ends in a sharp nail, which helps shish-kabab slippery prey. The shoebill’s wings are well suited for soaring they are strong enough to enable the bird to lift off near vertically, though it requires a powerful leap and a few heavy wing beats to catch a thermal. It’s wings help it keep its balance when clambering over shifting, wet vegetation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |