Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about shoebills. Although the current scientific theory is that birds are descendants of dinosaurs, not everyone believes it, and that’s okay, but we like to think today’s subject is an excellent example of how birds can remind us of dinosaurs. Shoebills could even be called b-rex thanks to their fantastic scientific name. Not to be confused with the t-rex of ancient times, shoebills have caused confusion in terms of how they’re related to other tall, long-legged birds. These birds kind of look like a stork and a pelican got mixed up together and now scientists aren’t sure how to classify them. Currently, they’re classified in the same order as pelicans, but they share traits with storks so it’s not uncommon to see them referred to as shoebill storks - though that’s technically incorrect since storks are classified in a different order. This could all change anyway, so let’s not get too hung up on it. Scientific names aside, shoebills got their common name from their massive, shoe-shaped bill. This bill is designed for catching a shoebill’s favorite meal.

Shoebills live in swamps and marshes of East central Africa. Within these slow-moving waterways lurk lungfish, the tastiest treat for a shoebill. The low oxygen level in the swampy water causes lungfish to surface more frequently to get fresh air, which makes them an easy target for the shoebill. A shoebill will stand perfectly still until the right moment and then quickly leap on its meal, scooping it and all other matter of material into its large bill. After dumping the excess, the shoebill chomps down and swallows the lungfish. While lungfish may be their favorite snack, shoebills also eat other fish, rodents, snakes, turtles, birds, and even young crocodiles. Yes, we said crocodiles… Did we not mention these birds are huge? A shoebill can stand as tall as the average eight year old human. Like we said, dinosaurs.

Like all birds, shoebills begin their life as an egg. Shoebills almost always lay two eggs per nest. There’s a reason for this, and it’s pretty diabolical. See, the baby shoebills will hatch within about a month, but one egg always hatches about five days before the other meaning it has five days of growth outside of the egg over its younger sibling. After enough development, unless there is some kind of malformation in the chick that hatched first, the first born chick will kill its younger sibling. This ensures the older sibling will receive the full attention of its parents and increase its chances for survival. This phenomenon is called siblicide and actually isn’t uncommon in other bird species, too. Yeah, sometimes nature is brutal…dinosaurs. It takes just over three months for the baby to fledge but it won’t be independent from its parents until a month later. The baby will go on to find a mate once it reaches maturity and, if it can avoid confrontation, may live past 30 years of age - unlike its dead sibling… who is dead… Dinosaurs.

Another less than tasteful trick the shoebills perform is pooping on their legs. Now, we’re going to be fair and say, just like with their homicidal tendencies, there’s a legitimate reason shoebills do this, and it’s to help keep cool. Thankfully for the shoebills, they’re pretty antisocial and only really get together to mate and raise kids, so it’s not like anyone is going to notice anyway. Shoebills also clap their bills to make loud sounds; they’re otherwise pretty silent, but they do this as a means of communication between their mate and their kids. Storks do this, as well - hence the whole name confusion thing. Now all I can imagine is a shoebill as the stork who carries the baby in the blanket… let’s just hope it’s not twins…

For more facts on shoebills, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.