Some taxonomists said that the shoebill's syrinx, or vocal organ, resembled those of herons belonging to the family Pelecaniformes, which also includes ibises, pelicans, and boobies. Over the past couple of centuries, naturalists have debated where shoebills should appear on the Tree of Life. Shoebills may be more closely related to pelicans than storks.
Complemented by their golden eyes, the posture affects a very convincing death stare. Shoebills can stand virtually motionless for hours with their bills held down against their necks. You really can’t mistake them for any other bird: They grow 4 to 5 feet tall, have bluish-gray plumage and an 8-plus-foot wingspan, and their bill, which takes up a majority of their face, looks like a huge Dutch wooden clog. Shoebills live in the vast wetlands of the Nile watershed in eastern Africa. Shoebill storks could win staring contests.
But there are a lot of misconceptions about shoebill storks-the first being that they're not actually storks. These stately wading birds stalk the marshes of South Sudan, Uganda, and elsewhere in tropical East Africa, snatching up prey with their unique, immediately recognizable bills. Shoebill storks have been called the world’s most terrifying bird (though the cassowary might disagree).
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