Bizarre Birds

By: Melissa Mc Alpine

It was the latest copy of SA Bird Life magazine that caught my eye. Right there, on the front cover, was the strangest looking bird I’d ever seen. It looked like it hailed from prehistoric times and is called a shoebill stork. This led me to search online for further information on this and other weird and wonderful, prehistoric-looking birds found across the globe. Here’s what I found…

Cassowary (aka ‘Murderbird’)

An odd-looking bird that looks like it’s from the dinosaur era is the Cassowary. Considered one of the world’s most dangerous birds, Cassowaries are found in Northern Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding islands. They have a striking appearance with a bony horn on their heads, vibrant colours on their skin and feathers, and long, powerful legs with sharp claws. The largest cassowaries can stand as high as six feet tall and weigh up to 45kgs. While they can’t fly, they swim well and move quickly on land. After the female lays her eggs, she leaves the male to tend to them. The male is responsible for incubating the eggs, protecting the nest, and raising the chicks. Surprisingly, for such scary looking creatures, their diet consists mainly of fruit, insects, snails, and the occasional dead animal. Charming.

Hoatzin (aka ‘Stinkbird’)

Another weird bird of note is the hoatzin, or ‘stinkbird’ as it’s also known as due to its rather stinky smell. It too has a prehistoric look about it with a spiky, punk-like crest on its head, bright blue facial skin, and a long, bulky body covered in brown feathers. The hoatzin feeds only on plant vegetation that ferments in its gut which is what creates the bird’s unpleasant odour. They are known for their unusual behavior, including moving around tree branches using their claws. Hoatzins build large, untidy nests made of sticks and vegetation, usually near bodies of water. These nests can be communal, with multiple breeding pairs sharing the same tree. The hoatzin is found in certain parts of South America, including the Amazon Basin and the Orinoco Basin.

Shoebill Stork (aka ‘Jaws’)

This oddball of a carnivorous bird has a foot-long beak that resembles a Dutch clog. Its ultra strong jaw muscles and hardened bill help it to easily dismember captured prey. It is characterized by its large, shoe-shaped bill, which is one of the most prominent bills among all bird species. Its eyes are a piercing yellow colour, and its feathers are a blend of grey, black, and white, giving it a prehistoric look. While it feeds mainly on fish, it also eats amphibians, reptiles and sometimes even small birds. It can reach between 3.5 to five feet in height and has a wingspan of over eight feet long. They have long, thin legs with large feet ideal for walking on the vegetation in the freshwater marshes and swamps they inhabit in East Africa, from Ethiopia and South Sudan to Zambia.

Tawny Frogmouth (aka ‘Camo King’)

A master of camouflage that can hide in plain sight, this bizarre little bird looks like an owl and buzzes like a bee when startled. The Tawny Frogmouth hunt for food at night using the ‘sit and wait’ technique, as in they simply sit, mouth open, and wait for an insect to fly right in. If that’s not the height of laziness, then I don’t know what is. They’re found across Australia and in Tasmania and prefer living in open woodland and parks. Their diet consists mainly of insects, including moths, beetles, and other nocturnal prey. However, being opportunistic feeders, pretty much whatever’s on the evening’s menu is good enough to eat. When threatened, they adopt a freeze posture, stretching out their bodies and closing their eyes to resemble a broken branch or tree stump.