#pelecaniform

[vintagewildlife]

Grey heron surrounded by marine iguanas By: Alan Root From: The Fascinating Secrets of Oceans & Islands 1972

[inatungulates]

Indian sambar Rusa unicolor unicolor

With house crow Corvus splendens (on young sambar), red-wattled lapwing Vanellus indicus (left and right background), and black-headed ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus (center background)

Observed by reginchen, CC BY-NC

[birds--daily]

day 3

great blue heron

[snototter]

A black heron (Egretta ardesiaca) uses its wings to trick fish into the shade in order to snap them up in Abuko Nature Reserve, Gambia

by Steve Garvie

[birdblues]

Grey Heron

[life-on-our-planet]

🪶👞shoebill stork👞🪶

[weirdbabybirds]

Northern Bald Ibis

Source: Zooborns

[baby-bird-beaks]

Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)

© Mike Streicher

[alonglistofbirds]

[2443/11080] Cinnamon bittern - Ixobrychus cinnamomeus

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae (herons) Subfamily: Botaurinae (bitterns)

Photo credit: Feihong Huang via Macaulay Library

[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

[taxonomytournament]

Taxonomy Tournament: Birds

Strisores. This clade is made up of various small birds, such as swifts, hummingbirds, and nightjars.

Pelecaniformes. This order of seabirds contains pelicans, herons, ibises and shoebills

[vintagewildlife]

Tricolored heron By: Caulfield From: Natural History Magazine 1984

[inatungulates]

Indian elephant Elephas maximus maximus

With Indian pond heron Ardeola grayii, left background, and great egret Ardea alba, right foreground

Observed by martin53, CC BY-NC-ND

[birdsagainstgravity]

Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)

© Mike Streicher

[snototter]

A flock of scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) rest in a tree in Trinidad

by Laurence Green

[birdblues]

Great Blue Heron