Shoebill: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the shoebill lives – recorded in 6 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Balaeniceps rex
Group	Herons, storks, cranes & flamingos
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	6 countries
Continents	Africa
Diet (main food)	Rodent, Polypterus senegalus, Tilapia, carrion, Anseriformes, Testudines, Marbled lungfish, snail, West African Lungfish, Anura, Siluriformes, Clarias, Varanus niloticus
Class	Bird
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Balaenicipitidae

Where does the shoebill live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the shoebill in 6 countries and territories across Africa. Wikidata gives its range as: Africa.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What does a shoebill eat?

Wikidata lists the main food source of the shoebill as: Rodent, Polypterus senegalus, Tilapia, carrion, Anseriformes, Testudines, Marbled lungfish, snail, West African Lungfish, Anura, Siluriformes, Clarias, Varanus niloticus.

Is the shoebill endangered?

The shoebill’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the shoebill?

The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) is a bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the family Balaenicipitidae, genus Balaeniceps. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the shoebill

The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex), also known as the whale-headed stork, whalebill, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It is named for its enormous, shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and was previously classified as a stork in the order Ciconiiformes, but genetic evidence has now placed it along with pelicans, herons, and its closest relative, the hamerkop, all in the order Pelecaniformes. Adults are mainly grey, while juveniles are browner. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudan down to Zambia.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Shoebill (revision 1380224781), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q18700 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).