I Could’ve Sworn It Was Someone In A Costume But Then I Realized It Was An Actual Bird!

It doesn’t matter where you look at the world around you, you are going to see something that is wonderful. The earth holds so many secrets that it would take a lifetime for us to explore just a small area of it. Sometimes, those wonderful things may take us by surprise and may delight us in many ways. At other times, we may see something that could give us nightmares if we aren’t careful. I’m not quite sure where this bird falls into the picture, but it is unique, to say the least.

The bird in question is the Shoebill stork and quite honestly, some people have been quite freaked out over it. It is an extremely large bird and you might feel a bit overwhelmed and perhaps even intimidated when it is standing in front of you. Quite honestly, unless you see this bird for yourself, you might have a difficult time believing that it actually exists. Once you do see it, you will never forget about it.

When many people see pictures of the Shoebill stork, they might think that it is fake. As you look down through the pictures here, it will be easy to see why. Quite honestly, I would consider it to be more Muppet-like than like a real animal.

In reality, it is similar to a prehistoric creature that somehow was able to survive mass extinctions. If you are interested in seeing this bird in its own habitat, you will have to go to the African wetlands.

You might be surprised that there are many people who are concerned when seeing this bird. According to the Audubon Society, it is The Most Frightening Bird on Earth.

The common name for this bird is a shoebill stork but it is actually a Balaeniceps rex. Perhaps that may even put you in mind of another animal, the T-rex.

This bird is very tall and it has a massive beak. It looks as if it could tear a person apart limb by limb.

You might think it was a statue standing in the wild from a distance. It has gray and blue feathers and is both beautiful and terrifying.

The bird books fierce and its bill is huge. It also has a tremendous wingspan. This bird has been revered by people for thousands of years.

There are approximately 5000-8000 shoebill storks that live in the Eastern African wetlands. They can be up to 5 feet tall!

According to the Audubon Society: “The Shoebill will stand there, motionless as a statue, and wait for some poor lungfish or baby crocodile to swim by. Then the bird will pounce forward, all five feet of it, with its massive bill wide open, engulfing its target along with water, mud, vegetation, and probably any other hapless fish minding their own business.”

They like to hunt standing still and will eat anything that walks by, including birds, snakes, catfish, and lizards. They might even snack on the baby crocodile every once in a while.

You can see this impressive bird in this video: