Hummingbirds have a unique ball and socket joint at the shoulder that allows the bird to rotate its wings 180 degrees in all directions. The design of a hummingbird’s wings differs from most other types of birds. The birds can reach 5 feet in height and are classified as vulnerable, with only 3,300 to 3,500 mature shoebills still living in the wild. ZooTampa is home to three of only four shoebill storks in the United States. Are there any shoebill storks in the United States? According to Audubon magazine, private collectors in Dubai and Saudi Arabia will pay $10,000 or more for a live shoebill. Unfortunately, their scarcity and mystique have also made shoebills a sought-after bird for poachers in the illegal wildlife trade. Of this large group of animals, other than birds, crocodiles are the closest living things to dinosaurs. What’s the closest thing to a dinosaur?ĭinosaurs are classified as reptiles, a group that includes crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and snakes. ![]() These, and all other non-avian dinosaurs became extinct at least 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Other than birds, however, there is no scientific evidence that any dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, or Triceratops, are still alive. On account of its body size and big, sharp beak, the shoebill stork has few predators besides crocodiles and humans. “When the Shoebill approaches you, take a deep bow, shaking your head from side to side,” he said, demonstrating the maneuver like a man from Mumbai wobbling his head to say yes in the middle of a complicated yoga move. With long, spindly blue-gray legs that match its blue-grey feathers, the Shoebill stands almost 55 inches above the swampland mud that it calls home. The Shoebill stork is a rare and critically endangered bird (whose population is documented to be less than 5000 in the wild). If you’ve ever seen a shoebill stork, you might have easily mistaken it for a muppet - but it’s more Sam Eagle than is Skeksis of Dark Crystal. They evolved from dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years ago. ![]() Yusuke Miyahara/FlickrThe shoebill looks prehistoric because, in part, it is.
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