![]() It was a shoebill! We moved a little closer but didn’t want to get too close, afraid that we might scare it away. Then, after about half an hour, Maria spotted a grey speckle, far away in the papyrus. Sometimes, Maria and a boatman were having quite a hard time to push our boat through this reeds. We wandered through channels and thick reeds for quite some time and there were many different birds around. ![]() After we arrived to a small fishing harbor on the shores of Lake Victoria, we found our guide Maria, who arranged a boat and a steersman. Search for shoebill was not in our plans, but as our progress toward Entebbe was better than anticipated, we decided that we have enough time, to try our luck with this mystical bird. It was our last day before returning home and we were coming from Lake Mburo. Probably the most easily accessible spot to find it, also with the highest success rate, is Mabamba Swamp on Lake Victoria, near Entebbe. Our first encounter with this enigmatic bird was during our first trip to Uganda. When prey is spotted, it attacks it with its large hooked bill. Its typical pose is standing motionless in shallow water or on floating vegetation, waiting for any movement in the water. It feeds on fish, especially on lungfish. Some of its strongholds are in Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia, but can also be found as far south as Okavango Basin. It lives in reedy swamps and papyrus reeds of central tropical Africa. ![]() A large body resembles a stork, but DNA studies show that it is more related to pelicans. It derived this name from its enormous bill, which resembles the shape of a shoe – or of a dutch wooden clog, even. Its original Latin name means whalehead, but nowadays the name shoebill is usually used. Yet, we have been blessed to find this extraordinary bird in four different locations – three times in Uganda, and once in Zambia. When it comes to birding, we consider ourselves as very modest beginners. Found only in Africa, it is a great desire of many devoted birders. For real.This is one of the most enigmatic and prehistorically looking birds. They don't say much, in fact they're mute most of the time, but when they clatter their bills upon running into another shoebill, or if it's mating season, duck for cover: It sounds just like a machine gun. Fierce in the wild, the dauntless shoebill has been known to fight Nile crocodiles to get to their delicious babies, and to fraternize with hippos whenever possible, as the sheer enormity of hippos forces yummy shoebill snacks to the water's surface. Stoic loners – there are only about 3,300 to 5,300 individuals left in the wild – the shoebill stays mainly in its own bailiwick, flying (a mere 150 flaps per minute) anywhere from 500 to 1,000 feet (152 to 305 meters) at a time, with most flights in the 65-foot (20-meter) range. While the momma shoebill will lay two or three eggs, only one chick will survive, as the eldest offspring has a Darwinian dark side and, alas, kills its siblings. Both partners participate in building their nest, which is a kind of floating barge that can be as large as 10 feet wide (3 meters) and 9 feet (almost 3 meters) deep. Weighing anywhere from 12 to 15 pounds and standing up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall with a wingspan that can reach 8 feet (over 2 meters), this steely-eyed, aloof and gawky bird hangs out in reedy wetlands where it can nosh on its favorite foods, namely lungfish, tilapia, catfish, frogs, snakes, monitor lizards and baby crocodiles – all of which it can snatch and swallow whole or tear through and decapitate easily with its badass, hollow, pelican-like 7-inch (18-centimeter) beak.Ī monogamous bird that can live up to 35 years, the shoebill finds its mate at a young age and aggressively defends its partner against rivals.
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