I love animals, but this bird freaks me out.

[Yavin4]

[Arkansas Granny]

1. Was that sound really coming from that bird?

It sounds like a shoot 'em up movie.

[Phoenix61]

4. Yep! It's their mating call. nt

[Phoenix61]

2. They are ridiculously large! 5ft tall, 8ft wingspan

I saw them at the bird zoo in Singapore. If you ever had a doubt dinosaurs and birds were related this guy makes it pretty clear.

[Karadeniz]

3. It looked like him clapping his beak together... Jeez! What does he eat? Nothing he has to sneak

up on!

[Phoenix61]

5. He's a stork so reptiles, fish, baby crocodiles. nt

[Karadeniz]

6. If they don't run from that noise, they're too dumb to live!

[Phoenix61]

7. They only make that noise when they are looking for a mate.

The rest of the time they don’t make a sound. Which is even creepier. They just stare at you, over those gigantic beaks, not moving a feather.

[StClone]

8. Don't worry, unless you go to Africa and look for it...

...you will never encounter one outside of zoos. They are declining (with a few thousand left) and are prized on the black market for whatever reasons. Yes, they can be as vicious as they look: that wicked hooked bill does delivery a very nasty bite. Related to pelicans, rather than storks or herons, it is likely an ancient lineage of bird which to me is unique and pretty cool.

[Ponietz]

9. Then there's this guy

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[Cracklin Charlie]

10. That's a dinosaur!

Strong evolutionary connection.