Shoebills Are Dinosaurs

In fact, the present scientific consensus is that all birds have evolved from dinosaurs. More specifically they are descendants from the dinosaur suborder of Theropods, characterized by thin-walled hollow bones and "feet" with three toes.

_{source: Wikimedia Commons}

But of all birds in existence today, the Shoebill must be the one that resembles their dinosaur-ancestry most. With just a little bit imagination one can see the similarities with velociraptor, the theropods made famous by the Jurassic Park movies. The thin-walled hollow bones have evolved for one specific goal, which is to lower the body weight. Obviously this is mandatory to eventually be able to fly, but birds like the shoebill show us another circumstance where it's good to weigh as little as possible; the shoebill combines being light with long toes, which enables it to walk on floating vegetation in swamps. Velociraptors were just interested in being fast I guess, or did I miss the long toes in the movies..?

Another velociraptor trait that's saved in the shoebill, is the fact that they eat anything that moves and that their strike is blindingly fast and deadly; although their oversized bills resemble a shoe somewhat, giving them their name, they are actually mighty weapons. Just look at that little pointy hook at the end, used to pierce and kill any fish, frog or even young alligator or crocodile that happens to pass by. Also the side edges of the bill are very sharp which comes in handy when separating unwanted body parts, like the head; we might have abandoned the use of the guillotine, but decapitation is alive and well in the world of the shoebill.

These weird looking birds are often called shoebill storks, but is actually much closer related to pelicans. Also they are classified as "threatened" with a total population between 5000 and 8000. We're to blame for that mostly, but the shoebill has to take some of the blame itself, as they are lousy parents; they tend to only raise the strongest of their offspring. As The chicks very early begin fighting among each other to determine who is the strongest. So even if the female shoebill lays three eggs, which is the maximum, only one of them will ever become an adult.

Their mighty bills are also used to make the only sound they produce, sounding like a drill hammer punching wood. These birds are truly unique, as the only other member of their evolutionary family is the hamerkop, who's head is shaped like a hammer; "hamerkop" is a Dutch word that translates to "hammerhead"... Both birds are indigenous to the African continent only, with a lot of them kept in captivity, like in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and many other zoos around the world. Let's hope we can preserve their natural swampy habitat and prevent them from going extinct like their dinosaur ancestors.

_{Shoebills are Metal}

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