Despite belonging to the world of birds, the researchers of "ornithology" or the science of birds found it difficult to classify, In their opinion, there is no such thing as that strange creature, it is sometimes like a swan, "The swan is one of the finest living creatures on the surface of the earth, which is characterized by the size and length of wings, which may reach up to 10 feet (about 3 meters), and despite the magnitude, but God gave her bones hollow and light enables them to fly and fly To high heights of more than 10 thousand feet (3,000 meters) within warm currents",  It is sometimes characterized by qualities of Stork and sometimes similar to the bird "Heron", but it doesn't belong to one of them.so It was  classified as a separate race.

"Abu Merkoub," or "Shoebill  ," or "The whale's head," are all names of this strange bird, He settled for thousands of years in the African continent, living in the swamps of the Upper Nile, from Sudan to Uganda, to the south of the Congo And adjacent to the plains, and called the scientists of birds this name because of its huge beak . which increases the size of the head more than double up to 23 centimeter.

Swan bird is somehow a large bird, its tall is up to about 120 cm, weighs about seven kilograms.While the length of the wings is about 2.30 meters,featured male swan bird with larger size .With blue-gray plumage, strong necks ,long legs, and a head resembling a shoe, so the Sudanese called  it boot.

"It feeds on anything moves."the observers found him greedily devoured mice, reptiles ,snakes and frogs,Also other small birds like amphibians and fish, even small crocodiles did not survive the huge beak . Although his rescue of the silent night predators waiting to pounce on prey with great speed and accuracy  And then swallowed up in just a few seconds,And when a prey fish cutting her head first before it eat it.

Shoebill  or Pelican bird has a very specific behaviors, it is a bird likes to live alone and did not meet with any of his platoon Except in the mating period and then back again, solo.Despite the fearsome body but mild-mannered, rarely moving, communicating with his female.In the mating season by voice.

shoebill simmers sexually after three or four years,Since the reconstruction of these birds up to 35 years, preferably the mating process takes place in the dry season to protect the nests from flooding,This bird prefers nested in the swamps, and place,the female lays two eggs and  sometimes three eggs,Egg incubation period is 30 days only, the couple is alternately to guard their eggs .As usual this unique bird endangered bird, and has recently been rated as endangered birds.Where there are only about eight thousand  birds in the forests, according to Bird Life, and as usual,human is the main reason, because  the destruction of the environment led to the Elimination of bogs, which are the original environment,Where is the conversion of forests and swamps into arable land,in addition to overfishing and trafficking it because of its strange form and shape.