Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)

Other Names (World)
Shoebill, Shoe-billed Stork, Whale-headed Stork, Bog Bird

Family
Balaenicipitidae (Shoebill)

Size
120 cm

First Described (Guide)
Gould, 1850

Habitat
Seasonally flooded marshes, areas with abundant floating vegetation, permanent non-papyrus swamps, rice fields and other flooded plantations.

Range (Guide)

Burundi (B) (NB), Central African Republic (B) (NB), Congo [The Democratic Republic of the] (B) (NB), Malawi (B) (NB), Rwanda (B) (NB), Sudan (B) (NB), Tanzania [United Republic of] (B) (NB), Uganda (B) (NB), Zambia (B) (NB).

Vagrant to Ethiopia (NB), Kenya (NB).

Sudan and southern Ethiopia to southern Zaire and northern Zambia.

Population
Estimated population is 5,000 - 8,000 (2010) and decreasing.

Status VU
Habitat destruction and degradation through conversion for cultivation and pasture, disturbance, hunting, and capture for the bird trade, are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually solitary.

Food
Lungfish and other fish species, aquatic animals such as amphibians, young crocodiles and watersnakes, rodents and young waterfowl.

Nest
A grassy construction, up to three metres wide, on a mound of floating vegetation or a small island, and often among dense stands of Papyrus.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Shoebill see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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