monkeybard | Wait! I almost forgot! (Reply)

Okay. I said I was going back to packing, but then I remembered I had to post what I found. See that icon I'm using? That freaky bird that I honestly thought was anamatronic only it was at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and as far as I know all their animals are, well, REAL. I finally found out what the freaky thing is! Those monthly emails from Earthlink can be useful. Check it out:

Shoebill

The Shoebill, Balaeniceps rex also known as Whalehead is a very large bird related to the storks. It derives its name from its massive shoe-shaped bill.

The Shoebill is a very large bird, averaging 1.2 m (4 ft) tall, 5.6 kg (12.3 lbs) and 2.33 m (7.7 ft) across the wings. The adult is mainly grey, the juveniles are browner. It lives in tropical east Africa, in large swamps from Sudan to Zambia.

The Shoebill was added rather recently to the ornithological lists; the species was only discovered in the 19th century when some skins were brought to Europe. It was not until years later that live specimens reached the scientific community. The bird was known to both ancient Egyptians and Arabs however. There exist Egyptian images depicting the Shoebill while the Arabs referred to the bird as abu markub, which means one with a shoe. Clearly, this refers to the striking bill.