Facts About The Rare Shoebill Stork : The shoebill stork is a unique bird species that has attracted the attention of very bird lovers from all over the world to travel and embark onto birding safaris and a bird species is mostly spotted within fresh swamps, which act as its natural habitat. More so, these bird safaris where one has an interest of seeing the rare shoebill stork, tourists can always choose to visit in African tropical countries like; South Sudan, Uganda, Western Tanzania, Northern Zambia, Rwanda, Eastern Congo and many others.
Fun facts about the rare shoebill stork.
There are many interesting things to know about the rare shoebill stork and some of these include;
Gestation period of the shoebill stork.
The gestation period of a rare shoebill stork goes for about good 30 days and it is noticed that the female shoebills normally lay between one to three eggs which be measuring between 80 to 90 mm high and 56 to 61mm wide and also approximately weigh about 164 grams. More so, these female shoebills lay there eggs from the bests which are about 1 to 1.7 meters wide and 3 meters deep. However, both the male and female always work together while building the nests from a floating platform and once the chicks are hatched, both parents have a fully responsibility to look after them until they are around 105 days old and they are able to fledge. Another interesting thing to know about them is that they become sexually mature at the age of 3 years.
Life Span of the rare shoebill stork.
Tourists most especially bird lovers should note that the rare shoebill stork have a longer life span compared to other bird species. More so, it is noted that the lifespan of the shoebill stork goes between 35 to 50 years.
Natural Habitat of a shoebill stork.
The shoebill stork is a unique and aquatic bird species that predominantly loves in fresh water swamps within the central and East African countries as their natural habitats. However, these birds can also be spotted in Kenya, in the Northern Cameroon, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Malawi among others. More so, the shoebill stork is also well known as a non-migratory bird species that very limited and seasonal movements due to the avaibility of food and less disturbance from humans. For example, tourists exploring in Uganda on their birding safari can best sight see the rare shoebill stork in places like; Mabamba swamp is situated near Lake Victoria, in the Ishasha sector within Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Mburo national park, the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, Semiliki wildlife reserve, Bigodi swamp which is situated near Kabale national park, Nabajuzi swamp which is located within Masaka region. Therefore, this makes Uganda as a country to be considered like a birders paradise because it also harbours very many other bird species.
Diet of the shoebill stork.
The rare shoebill stork has a very unique hunting technique that it usually uses to easily catch their prey and this is known as; “freeze and seize”. More so, the diet of the rare shoebill stork mainly comprises of water mammal species such as; cat fish, frogs, eels, turtles, small waterfowls, baby crocodiles, tilapia, snails, Nile monitors, water snakes, mad fish, lungfish and many others.
Movements of the shoebill stork.
The rare shoebill storks are birds that have the capability to walk on their two legs of either fly with the wide wings, which stretch, to about 2.5 meters while flying from one place to another. However, while these birds are flying, they are always noticed to move with their heads backwards and this helps them to stay longer in the air and use well their wings to maintain their balance in order to avoid falling.
There are many more facts and interesting things to know about the rare shoebill storks such as; their conversation status, about their behaviours and mannerisms, and about their physical description and its name was derived from its huge shoe shaped beak, bill and it is also commonly referred to as the whale-headed stork, or shoe billed stork. More so, the adult male shoebills are noticed to be grey in colour and the juveniles are brown.
Contact our trusted tour operators in case of any more information about the shoebill storks and book with our tours and travel companies such as; Achieve Global Safaris, and Explore Tours Rwanda who offer the best tour packages while on your safaris in countries like; Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania.
