Animals & Wildlife Magazine

Fugly Friday: Just Put It On My Bill

By Petslady @petslady

This is one fugly bird!

Shoebill (Public Domain Image)
Shoebill (Public Domain Image)

This stork-like bird is called a shoebill. It is also called the whalehead stork. The somewhat unfortunate looking bird lives in wetlands in central Africa. The strangely shaped bill is extremely sharp to help them hunt their prey. Their diet consists of fish, frogs, reptiles, and small mammals. 

Shoebills are various shades of gray with similar plumage in both males and females. The bird can grow as tall as four and a half feet and has a long wingspan. BirdLife International has classified the shoebill as vulnerable do to loss of habitat and hunting.

Sources: About.com, Wikipedia


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