Shoebill

Description:

The Shoebill also known as Whalehead or Shoe-billed Stork, is a very large stork-like bird. It derives its name from its massive shoe-shaped bill. The adult bird is 115-150 cm tall, 100-140 cm long, 230-260 cm across the wingspan and weighs 4-7 kg. Their beaks have an average length of 30 cm. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are browner.

Habitat:

It lives in tropical east Africa in large swamps from Sudan to Zambia.

Notes:

Taxonomy The Shoebill was only classified in the 19th century when some skins were brought to Europe. It was not until years later that live specimens reached the scientific community. However, the bird was known to both ancient Egyptians and Arabs. Traditionally allied with the storks (Ciconiiformes), it was retained there in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy which lumped a massive number of unrelated taxa into their "Ciconiiformes". More recently, the shoebill has been considered to be closer to the pelicans (based on anatomical comparisons) or the herons (based on biochemical evidence; Hagey et al., 2002). A recent DNA study suggests they are part of the Pelecaniformes.