![]() ![]() They engage in bill clattering, which makes them produce a series of popping noises that sound much like a machine gun. When it's time to mate, shoebills go from quiet to scarily loud. ![]() RELATED: Best Zoos in the World A Loud Mating Call So far, they have bred successfully only twice in captivity - at Pairi Daiza in Belgium and at Zoo Tampa. They are kept in zoos around the world, but rarely breed there. They live to about the same age in captivity. Shoebills live to be about 36 years old in the wild. It's not a heavy bird, only weighing between 9 to 15 1/2 pounds. Much of its height is made up of its long skinny legs, which allow them to stand high in swamps and aquatic vegetation while searching for prey. The bird is up to 4 1/2 feet tall with a wingspan of 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 feet. If you ever run into a shoebill, you'll likely be amazed at just how big it is. There are a total of three shoebills in the United States at Zoo Tampa in Tampa, Florida. In the wild, shoebills are found in the freshwater swamps and marshes of Uganda, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Botswana, and Tanzania. This means they're genetically closer to pelicans and herons than they are storks. Genetic testing has shown them to be members of the order Pelecaniformes and family Balaenicipitidae, or waterbirds. Surprisingly, shoebills are not actually storks. Even so, there's not much known about them. Shoebills were first described in ancient Egyptian writings, but they weren't classified until the 19th century. ![]() These strange, prehistoric-looking birds are sometimes called whale-billed or whale-headed storks. The shoebill is named for its large, shoe-shaped beak. The bird had been relatively unknown outside its habitat until social media came along, but today, it fascinates people across the world. The shoebill stork may look positively prehistoric because it very well may be - scientists believe it's related to the dinosaur. If you've ever wanted to meet a dinosaur, the shoebill stork is as close as you'll get. ![]()
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