Photo of a mother shoebill and chick in Uganda goes viral
A Mabamba Swamp image of a shoebill stork guarding its chick draws thousands of reactions and a running debate over the bird's prehistoric look.
What to know
- A photo of a shoebill stork and its chick at Mabamba Swamp, Uganda, went viral on bluesky, drawing over 2,800 reactions.
- The comment thread became a broader discussion of the shoebill's prehistoric appearance and true evolutionary relatives (pelicans and herons, not terror birds).
- Several commenters noted the species' harsh sibling-rivalry nesting behavior alongside expressions of affection and intimidation.
The dispute Commenters differ on whether the shoebill is closely related to terror birds versus pelicans/herons, and how directly it descends from dinosaurs. · positions read across 73 posts and comments
The photo and chick are adorable and the species is fascinating to encounter for the first time.
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“OMG A baby shoebill!!!! What could be better on a Saturday morning! A baby shoebill!”
heathencanadian2.bsky.social · bluesky ↗
The bird's prehistoric, dinosaur-like appearance is unsettling or intimidating.
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“I would not want to make that bird angry.”
nlt71.bsky.social · bluesky ↗
Commenters correct claims about the shoebill's evolutionary lineage, distinguishing dinosaur descent from terror-bird relation.
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“Shoebills are not at all related to terror birds. They're related to pelicans and herons. The closest living relatives to Terror Birds are seriemas.”
4eyesjohnny.bsky.social · bluesky ↗
@maba_mbashoebill Instagram wildlife photographerlucagalletti.bsky.social bluesky poster
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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4
A commenter notes shoebill sibling rivalry behavior
One reply describes that shoebill broods often have more than one chick and the stronger chick pushes the weaker one off the nest, after which the mother stops feeding it.
“shoebills often have more than one chick, the more aggressive one will push the other off the nesting mound at which point the mother will no longer feed it.”
— andy-lion.bsky.social -
No far from the truth - shoebills existed 30 million years ago and they are descended from avian dinosaurs.
2 more of the top 3 · 59 posts in this stretch
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If a pelican and a Velociraptor had a baby.
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M
Awww so cute! I love that clacking noise they make. I think of Shoebills as the the bird version of capybaras
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Users debate the shoebill's evolutionary ancestry
Commenters speculate the bird descends from terror birds or dinosaurs directly, prompting others to correct the record on its actual closest relatives.
“Shoebills are not at all related to terror birds. They're related to pelicans and herons. The closest living relatives to Terror Birds are seriemas.”
— 4eyesjohnny.bsky.social -
OMG A baby shoebill!!!! What could be better on a Saturday morning! A baby shoebill!
2 more of the top 3 · 11 posts in this stretch
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I would not want to make that bird angry.
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Really like shoebills, pretty special, but the little chicken steals ones heart ❤️
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Commenters flood the post with admiration and unease
Dozens of replies express delight at seeing a baby shoebill for the first time alongside remarks that the bird is intimidating or dinosaur-like.
“OMG A baby shoebill!!!! What could be better on a Saturday morning! A baby shoebill!”
— heathencanadian2.bsky.social -
❤️❤️❤️ I’ve never seen a baby Shoebill !!!
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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God missed the mark with these (birds?).
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Photographer's shoebill photo shared on bluesky
lucagalletti.bsky.social reposted an Instagram image by @maba_mbashoebill showing an adult shoebill stork watching over its chick at Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe, Uganda; the post reached a score of 2,844.
“Protective mama dinosaur carefully watching over her chick, Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe, Uganda 🇺🇬…”
— lucagalletti.bsky.social -
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Protective mama dinosaur carefully watching over her chick, Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe, Uganda 🇺🇬 #ShoebillStork #BirdingUganda IG: @maba_mbashoebill
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What people are saying 15 voices from 1 site · best of 73 · verbatim
- Are shoebills more closely related to terror birds or to pelicans and herons?
- Sep 12
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You can definitely see dinosaur ancestry, when you look at a shoebill. For me, the other bird that brings to mind dinosaurs, is the Cassowary.
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One of my absolute favorite birds and I have one somewhere in my feed lol just absolutely amazing🌹
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Its those eyes for me. Talk about resting b face! Dino birds, for real. Terrifying and lovely
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Baby already has the standing still and staring thing down.
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I LOVE the shoebill stork! I have one as my screen saver. Sadly, they're only in S/E Africa so I doubt I'll ever see one in real life. If you haven't heard their sound, bark, noise - whatever you'd call it, it can be found on YouTube. ♥️💜🩷
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I was not ready for baby to look so much like mom even without fledging. That beak does a lot to make such an iconic silhouette
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Ah yes, a living cryptid, the shoebill stork. I still have nightmares about the sounds it makes sometimes lol
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THAT is a fabulous photo!!! A TRUE dinosaur - both of them And I thought Pelicans were the last of the dinosaurs these showbills beat out the pelicans
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They definitely look like their dino ancestors.
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Hate to ruin the party but shoebills often have more than one chick, the more aggressive one will push the other off the nesting mound at which point the mother will no longer feed it. Harsh, right…?
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Now we know where Pixar got the inspiration! (Seriously, though, what a great post! Thank you for sharing!)
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I guess they didn't get the memo about the asteroid circa 66M years ago
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Incredible birds. I never even heard of them before until I got #bluesky
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They’re so interesting and beautiful, but honestly, I’d freak out if I were to be face to face with one.
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I wonder if they’re descendants of the terror bird? They sure look like them.