Shoebill nervous about going down stairs:

[tblue37]

Link to tweet

[Bayard]

1. That is one big bird!

[BootinUp]

2. Shoebills are fascinating to me. nt

[LudwigPastorius]

3. Should be accompanied by the Jurassic Park theme music.

That thing is rather dinosaur-y looking.

[TexasBushwhacker]

4. I bet it doesn't have much depth perception

Unlike an owl, where both eyes point forward, the shoebill's eyes are more to the side of their head. It knows it needs to step down, but it can't tell how far.

If you want to see how important binocular vision is to depth perception, try pouring a glass of water without holding the glass with one eye closed.

I find shoebills fascinating. Their greeting is to shake their head.

They make an interesting "chatter" with that big bill too. (Around 40 seconds)

[Laffy Kat]

5. That huge bill looks like it was simply stuck on as an afterthought.

Amazing critters!