This Bird Looks Like A Dinosaur and Eats Crocodiles

This Bird Looks Like A Dinosaur and Eats Crocodiles

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Photo by flowcomm, via Wikimedia Commons

No, this is not a still from Jurassic Park. This is a very real animal that exists on this planet. Who knew?

These birds, called shoebills, are described as large, secretive stork-like birds. They can be found in swamps in tropical east Africa.

Thanks to its enormous foot-long bill, this terrifying bird can hunt prey that is not typical of other water birds. Its meals include baby crocodiles, lungfish, catfish, water snakes, large lizards, and frogs. There has even been a report of a shoebill eating a young antelope, but that remains unconfirmed.

Shoebills are efficient hunters and they prefer to hang out near water with less oxygen, where the fish are forced to surface more often.

As extremely solitary creatures, the mating season is the only time of year that shoebills spend in the company of their species. During the mating season, they will rapidly clatter their bills together like machine gun fire in order to attract mates. Other calls include a cow-like moo and various whining noises. Plus, when young shoebills are hungry, they call out to their mothers with a sound that is similar to a person hiccuping.