woah what kind of bird is this?

That is a shoebill, a very large and unique bird that lives in East Africa. It has a huge bill that looks like a shoe, hence its name. It is also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork. It is related to pelicans and herons, but it has its own family, Balaenicipitidae. It is a carnivorous bird that feeds on fish, reptiles, and small mammals. It can stand up to five feet tall and weigh up to 12 pounds. It has gray feathers, yellow eyes, and a crest on its head. It is a rare and endangered species that faces threats from habitat loss, hunting, and pollution.

That is a shoebill stork! And speaking of storks, here are two storks celebrating together after their first egg as laid

Balaeniceps rex.- Shoebill Stork. The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork is a very large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. However, genetic evidence places it with pelicans and herons in the Pelecaniformes. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are more brown. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudanto Zambia.

What kind of bird? 🤔

Shoebill stork

I wish this video gave some context to their size. They’re massive.

Shoebill Stork. They’re HUGE!!