#African Grey From Hatching to Adulthood

[uncharismatic-fauna]

A Shoo-in Shoebill Stork

The shoebill stork, also known as the whalebill stork or Balaeniceps rex is in fact not a stork at all, but a long-legged wading bird belonging to the family Pelecaniformes. This species can be found in the central African tropics, from southern Sudan to northern Tanzania. Within this range, they mainly inhabit freshwater swamps and dense marshes, particularly those with deep water large reed beds.

Balaeniceps rex is often referred to as a dinosaur among birds due to its fearsome appearance. The average individual stands 1.1-1.4 m (3.6-4.5 ft) tall and has a wingspan of 2.3 to 2.6 m (7.5 to 8.5 in). However, adults are quite light, weighing only 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to 15.4 lb). Males tend to be larger than females, but otherwise the two sexes look identical. Adults have dark grey plumage with a lighter belly and darker wings. Their most striking feature is their beak, which is extremely large and can be said to resemble a wooden show (hence the name).

The shoebill's beak is very useful for catching its primary prey: fish. B. rex consumes a variety of species, including lungfish, catfish, and tilapia, as well as non-fish items like water snakes, frogs, turtles, mollusks, and even young crocodiles. Shoebills typically stalk their prey, or stand perfectly still and wait for their prey to come to them, before quickly snatching it up and decapitating it with the sharp edges of their beaks. Because of their large size and strong bills, adults are seldom prey for other animals, and they defend their nests fiercely from predators like snakes and other birds.

Outside of the breeding season-- and even during it-- shoebills are extremely territorial. Not only do they chase potential predators away from their nests, both males and females will fiercely defend their territory from other shoebills.

Breeding begins in the dry season, typically in in May, and lasts until about October. Once a male and female form a pair, they remain together for the duration of the mating season. They build a nest from floating vegetation, and 1-3 eggs are cared for by both parents; in addition to being incubated for warmth, one parent may also occasionally pour a beak-full of water over the eggs to keep them cool during the hot summer day. The eggs hatch about 30 days after being laid, and young are fed continuously-- though usually only one chick survives to adulthood. At 125 days old they become fully independent and leave to establish their own territories. The average individual can live up to 35 years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN lists the whalebill stork as Vulnerable. Current wild population estimates sit at about 5,000-8,000 individuals. Primary threats include poaching for the zoo trade and consumption, habitat destruction, and pollution.

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Photos

Santiago Caballero Carrera

George Amato

Mana Meadows

[birdlifeinternational]

What in the world is a Shoebill?

Deep in the remote, dense, and little-explored swamps of Africa lives an uncommon fowl with a shoe for a face. No, really. The African Shoebill stork appears extra like some thing out of a comedian e book than a chicken you would possibly thankfully stumble upon on an African safari. Distributed in the swampy marshes of Uganda, Rwanda, Western Tanzania, and Zambia, this uncommon chicken may very properly have walked out of the dinosaur era.

The Shoebill stork is a uncommon and severely endangered fowl (whose populace is documented to be much less than 5000 in the wild). With long, spindly blue-gray legs that fit its blue-grey feathers, the Shoebill stands nearly fifty five inches above the swampland mud that it calls home. 

The over-exaggerated beak actually beggars belief; this humongous appendage resembles the iconic Dutch clog as an alternative than whatever a hen may use to consume it is meal, let by myself some thing it would elevate on its face! The reality is, no longer lots is regarded about this ambitious bird. The first scientific documentation of the species solely passed off in the late nineteenth century. The Shoebill is elusive and no longer very social. Individuals continue to be a long way away from every different besides all through breeding season and it is pretty regular for the birds to keep a distance of at least 20 metres aside throughout feeding and swampland meandering. Almost to show their delinquent nature, generally solely one chick born to a pair will live on to adulthood. So ruthless is the Shoebill, that the biggest chick in the hatch will commit fratricide except a moment’s hesitation. The surviving chicks are virtually ejected from the nest as soon as they have learnt the very fundamentals of survival from their mothers. The Shoebill is no vegetarian. In fact, it is a bold carnivore with an urge for food for snakes, lungfish, catfish and even small crocodiles. The Shoebill’s anatomy is best for singling out prey in shallow waters and executes its meal with one single strike of its comedian but exceedingly sturdy beak. A curved hook at the quit of the Shoebill’s beak acts as a spear that can provide a deadly blow each single time. With an common lifespan of 25 years, the Shoebill can be a terrorizing swamp figure.

The Shoebill’s beak is a bold weapon in the marshlands

Another incredible function of the African Shoebill is its soft, doe-like blue eyes,a genetic mutation located in positive populations. This has no impact on its potential to hunt though, however makes for an fascinating sight have to you experience the privilege of seeing one face-to-face in the wild.Harry Potter followers would be involved to be aware of that the Shoebill, when saved in captivity, has been acknowledged to show comparable behaviour to the legendary Hippogriff in J.K Rowling’s famous myth saga. The Hippogriff as described in the Harry Potter books is a proud, flesh-eating, eagle-horse hybrid with a touchy and noble character. In order to strategy the Hippogriff barring serious injury, one need to bow to it earlier than approaching. A captive Shoebill in Uganda named Sushi has displayed comparable behavior, and when the greeting is now not reciprocated, Sushi flies away with disdain.For all it’s quirks, the African Shoebill is an vital phase of Africa’s ecosystem. The Shoebill storks are no longer recognized to be aggressive toward people and for all its abnormal beauty, the Shoebill reminds us by no means to decide a e book through its cover.