Measuring about 4 inches wide and nearly 9 inches long, the shoebill’s clodhopper bill is a pale yellow with slashes of gray markings on it.Īt the end of this razor-sharp beak is a hook-shaped nail that allows the shoebill to decapitate its prey, which is usually lungfish but also includes water snakes, baby crocodiles, small waterfowl, lizards and rodents. Standing tall (nearly 5 feet) on long, spindly legs, this prehistoric-looking stork is mostly slate-gray with big, round yellow eyes and a tuft of feathers on the back of its head.īut, the most striking feature is the massive bill that resembles a wooden clog shoe. They may be ugly… but they are also kind of adorable. However, that doesn’t stop the shoebill from being one of the most popular birds on the must-see list for birdwatchers in Central-Eastern Africa. You can’t expect a bird to win a beauty pageant when its face is attached to a giant bill resembling a clog shoe.
This post is meant solely for entertainment and to introduce you to some amazing creatures… so please don’t roast me :). I have trouble identifying any creature as truly “ugly,” they all have a beauty that is unique. They are still beautiful creatures that need to be protected. But, no matter how they look, birds fascinate us.īefore we get into it, I just want to say that even though these birds are “scary” and “ugly,” they all have a charm to them. Then, there are birds that just look plain scary.
Birds that have weird features like warty faces and long, dangly wattles. There are beautiful birds, and then there are some… straight up ugly birds.