These two newborn shoebill chicks take sibling rivalry to a whole new level. The video below just may change your mind. Which brings us to our next point: hese birds decapitate their prey using the cerated edges of that goofy-looking beak! Not so funny now, is it!? Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/behindlensĪnd that prey? Showebills have been known to eat eels and baby crocodiles! Apparently, when these birds are hunting they’ll stand, motionless for hours, waiting for unsuspecting prey to wander into their path.

So there's probably some reinforcement where she gets snacks (fishies) or whatever for being a good shoebill and that makes her want to bow and be friendly around the humans even more. In fact, they spend so little time with other shoebills as adults that they go incredibly long stretches of time without making a sound–something that makes their attempt at mimicking a statue while hunting a bit easier. The Shoebill in this video (Sushi) is used to meeting tourists on practically a daily basis. Instead, it just may be how completely intense they are! Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Lukas Gojdaįor starters, they’re solitary animals. In fact, the beak of the shoebill is perhaps not their most distinguishing attribute. The shoebill has other names, such as the shoe-billed stork because it looks like a stork. However, the scientific name of the shoebill is Balaeniceps Rex, which was given by Gould in 1850, and means King whale head. Their odd looking beaks sort of make them look like they’ve got a really good sense of humor. The name, shoebill, comes from its shoe-shaped bill. Look at this bird: Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/GrodzaĪnd well, even though they’re kind of strange looking, their strangeness is sort of endearing. It just means they have pretty weird looking faces. Among the reeds and papyrus, it is well concealed. But if you’ve ever seen their faces–with their shoe-shaped beaks, it’s actually super fitting. The shoebill’s nest is built on a pad of floating vegetation or a genuine island, like an exposed termite mound. There are also dedicated shoebill tours here (we didnt do). I mean, for starters, shoebill is a pretty ridiculous name. The sanctuary provides much work s well as tourism education to local communities.

The Shoebill is one of the most interesting birds on the planet.

Shoebill baby