These are white when laid but will stain brown throughout incubation which is undertaken by both parents for the 30 day period. Typically they lay 2 eggs though 3 is possible. They will clatter their bill, do a version of their food collapse and even jump on to the back of others to ward them off. Pairs work to defend this against other shoebills. They will form their nest on a large and flat mound of wet plant matter among the papyrus and other reeds. Breeding is variable across their range but typically occurs at the start of the dry season so chicks will fledge as the rains begin. Courtship is not well documented but is believed to include head bobbing and bill clapping. Shoebills are monogamous and mate with the same partner each year. Once it is secure they swing the bill from side to side till they dislodge items such as vegetation and are left with just the prey. Once it does they lunge forward and place the fish in their bill. To catch food they will stand still and wait for prey to swim by. These birds can go up to four days without a meal. These are supplemented with prey ranging from small snakes, rodents, frogs, turtles and birds up to monitor lizards and crocodiles. Most of their diet is fish such as lungfish and tilapia. The eye is coloured yellow or whitish-grey. These legs end with large toes that help walk through their marshy habitat.īoth genders display similar colouration. They stand atop long legs which are bare of feathers and coloured black. On top of the head is a short crest of feathers which is always held erect. Their feathers are a uniform grey or bluish grey across the head, body, wings and head. The most noticeable feature of the shoebill is the clog-shaped bill which is pointed and hooked at the end.
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