The male and female bow to each other as a display of their courtship. It will make a resounding clapping-like sound attracting the said female while simultaneously scaring away any competitors and other small animals. This is most evidenced in the mating season when the male adult picks out its mate. However, when it does make a sound it is indeed ground shaking. It is a quiet animal and can go for days without making any noise or sounds leave for the flapping of its wings. Sibling rivalry is very common among these young shoebills. The bigger chicks often pick on the smaller ones especially when the mother is way, and this often drives the defeated bird to live outside of the family. They fight each other off until the weakest chick is pushed out. It is the real survival for the fittest in the shoebill’s nest. The chicks are known for being insanely competitive.
When hungry the chicks make hiccup-like sounds to notify the mother that they need food. The young one is not able to stand and move on its own until two months later, so it solely depends on the mother’s food provision until three months later when they can do this on their own with the supervision of the parents. The female lays between 1 to 3 eggs and incubates then for about 30 days until they hatch. The shoebill mating season is closer to the dry period than the wet period when it is safer for the nest and eggs. A shoebill stork becomes sexually active at 3 to 4 years of age. The shoebill stork can live for more than 35 years in the wild. Partners only come together for mating, building the nesting area and incubating the eggs. Socially, the shoebill is a solitary and quiet animal. It is used to catch and kill the prey, as well as to chop off the heads of the prey for ease while swallowing. The beak is a fundamental instrument in eating. At the right moment, it strikes promptly and deadly possibly killing its prey in one swift move. The shoebill will wait out its prey especially in the shallow ends of wetlands or any floating vegetation to stake out its meal. It is known for being a fierce hunter and a patient predator. With the sharp and hard beak, once the prey is captured, it is very rare to escape their fate. They lunge at the baby crocodile swiftly when an opportunity presents itself. Shoebills prefer to feed on lungfish but supplement this other assortment like water snakes, frogs, turtles, and occasionally baby crocodiles when the young one’s parents are not around. The Shoebill is a carnivorous bird that mainly feeds on fish and aquatic features. This means they are more closely related to the pelicans, anhingas and gannets than to the storks. These are a family of medium to large-sized water birds. That is how massive a shoebill really is.Īlthough it is called a shoebill stork, it is a member of the taxonomic order of Pelecaniformes. This means that when a shoebill spreads its wings, it has a bigger wingspan than Shaquille O’Neal (Wingspan of 7.5 feet). The shoebill wings can spread up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) and can flap about 150 times per minute.
The legs are long, slender and black in colour, with large feet.
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