Often, before eating a fish, the Shoebill rips off the head. After a successful hunt, the bird first separates the prey from the plants, and then swallows the edible part. Then, it immediately spreads his wings and rushes forward, trying to catch the victim with his large beak with a sharp hook at the end. The Shoebill sometimes slowly and carefully walks through the reed thickets until potential prey appears on the surface. Without moving, with its head lowered into the water, the Shoebill patiently waits for a fish to appear nearby. It usually feeds on fish, and it also catches frogs, snakes and even young turtles and crocodiles. Often feeding during the day, the Shoebill diligently examines floating islands of aquatic plants. They're docile with humans and do not express any threatening behavior to them. The bird is most active at dawn, however, it often hunts during the day. It can stand motionless for long hours in shallow water, resulting in descriptions of the species as "statue-like". The Shoebill is well adapted to life in swamps, as its long legs with widely spaced toes allow it to easily move on the muddy soil. When Shoebill chicks beg for food, they make sounds that sound uncannily like human hiccups. Bill-clattering is done by both adult and young birds, and it plays a role in communication of the species. Shoebills are mostly mute birds that perform bill-clattering displays at the nest, and adult birds in these displays have noted to emit a muffled cow-like moo and high-pitched whining sounds. It is flattened above and has shape edges. Its shoe-like shape is what gives the bird its name. The most characteristic feature of this bird is the dull, straw-colored, erratically greyish-marked 18.8-24 cm long beak, which is hooked, wide and massive. Unlike most birds, the eyes are located in front of the skull, increasing the field of binocular vision. The neck is relatively short compared to other long-legged birds (herons and cranes). The mass of the this bird normally ranges from 4 to 7 kg and males are heavier than females males weigh within an average of 5.6 kg, while females weigh within an average of 4.9 kg. The length from tail to tip of the beak ranges from 100-140 cm, while the wingspan ranges from 230-260 cm.
It is overall a tall crested, grey- plumaged, black-legged stork-like bird that has a usual height measuring from 110-140 cm, with few individuals reaching up to 152 cm tall.
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