If you are thinking of getting a new pet then you might want to consider getting a shoebill. This bird has very good eyesight and a very strong beak. In fact it has the highest beak-to-tail ratio of all birds. It is the smallest bird in the crow family but has the most powerful beak and claws. Their wings can be very flexible also.
A common place where a shoebill feeds is under bushes or thickets where there is plenty of vegetation close by. As it feeds these vegetation are covered with oil droppings so they can provide a good home for the birds as well as cover them from predators. When a shoebill is young it will start learning to hunt from an early age because it uses its sharp beaks to grab onto its food. The average lifespan of a mature shoebill is around three years. They breed in spring and early summer, but will breed year-round in some parts of Australia.
Because of their bodies a shoebill is very good at hiding its eggs and it is the fastest egg-laying bird among its kind. A male will leave the nest two to three days after laying the eggs and then stay over for another few days before returning to the nest to lay one or two more eggs. There are about nine eggs in a female's clutch which will hatch out into chicks in about 14 days. If a pair does not nest again for a year then they both mates and the female can lay one or two eggs every year until she again starts nesting elsewhere.
Like all birds, a shoebill is migratory and they are usually found in salt marshes and swamps. This type of bird is very dependent on nature for its survival and they are used to flying thousands of miles in order to reach their destinations. The great migration is when a shoebill can fly for five days without landing anywhere. In addition, they spend the winter months in salt marshes and swamps before making their long journey back to their breeding grounds. When winter ends, they begin to build their nests in saltpans and brushlands and wait for the right time to return to the ocean and start their migration once again.
A shoebill's diet consists mainly of small insects and invertebrates that are consumed along with their meaty chicks during the time that they are nesting. They prefer small crayfish, leeches, worms and brine shrimp. As the seasons change and there are times when they are not able to consume the food supply in their environment, they scavenge for their next meal by picking over the sand dunes and forest areas searching for carrion. They also hunt for insects that are on the move such as mosquitoes and beetles. During their annual migration, they have to be agile and flexible so as to keep up their balance and prevent falling if they are tired.
The most common way to capture a shoebill is to entice it with food and then attack it while it is still on the move. Since these birds are fast swimmers, it can be quite difficult for them to grab onto something solid to restrain their flight. For this reason, they prefer grabbing onto the branches of trees, logs and rocks near their landing sites. Once they feel that the prey has been grabbed, they will twist their body around and try to bite it right away, because they have a sharp bill and this will tear the flesh right before they grab it.
The male shoebill stork feeds primarily on small mammals and birds. Because of the extreme aggression of this bird, it is best to hand feed it since other animals may become alarmed when the bird lands on them. Hand feeding the animals will allow you to get a taste of their meat without being harmed by the aggressive behavior of the bird. If you plan to take your pet Safari Africa trip, it is best that you do not go around feeding the animals during the day since the daytime meal might scare them away. Also, do not leave them alone at night as well, since they might eat any animals that wander close to their landing site.
When raising a shoebill chick, care must be taken to ensure that it gets enough nutrition. Since its parents are usually left for their nests when it becomes a chick, the female will stay with her nest for around three weeks before she is released. This is called laying its first egg, and this is also the time when it will look like nothing is wrong with it. It is during this time that the parent rears its head and tries to look for another mate to mate with. During this process, it will display its bright colors to make it easy for the new mate to identify it. Once it finds a mate, it will immediately go back to its own nest where it will lay another egg before starting the process all over again.
