Socially, the shoebill is a solitary and quiet animal.
This means they are more closely related to the pelicans, anhingas and gannets than to the storks. These are a family of medium to large-sized water birds. That is how massive a shoebill really is.Īlthough it is called a shoebill stork, it is a member of the taxonomic order of Pelecaniformes. This means that when a shoebill spreads its wings, it has a bigger wingspan than Shaquille O’Neal (Wingspan of 7.5 feet). The shoebill wings can spread up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) and can flap about 150 times per minute.
The legs are long, slender and black in colour, with large feet. The beak is almost 10 inches long, deadly and used for both feeding and protecting itself. The beak of the shoebill is curved at the tip and has very sharp edges with which the bird uses to cut through its food. It is grey in colour, but the most outstanding feature is the shoe-shaped bill. Exceptional specimens reach 60 in (152 cm). That’s due to the fact that mature adults stand an average of 43 – 55 in (110 – 140 cm) in height. That’s because it’s a tall bird, to put it mildly. Its great physical size, though, easily ranks as one of these distinguishing traits. Unlike other bird species, shoebill is a tall bird. In Uganda, you can see these rare birds in Mabamba swamp, Lake Mburo National Park, Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary, and Murchison Falls National Park. Here is a Habitat Map showing all the countries which are known to have shoebill. The Shoebill is endemic to East and Central African, countries of Uganda, DRC, Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia and South Sudan. It tends to inhabit around freshwater swamps, wetlands and marshlands.
Evidence indicates it once had a greater range, though. That’s due to the fact that it only appears to live in a small portion of one continent. The Shoebill has a somewhat limited range of habitation. If you have only seen pictures of it, it might look a little unreal but there is a healthy number of shoebills in Uganda that you can meet during Uganda safaris. The shoebill looks mean and a little prehistoric compared to other species in the same family. These include the whalehead, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork. It also has alternate names by which it’s known, though. The Shoebill facts-The term of Shoebill serves as the most frequently used of the common names for a stork-like bird, renowned for its size.