Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Pelecaniformes > Balaenicipitidae > Balaeniceps > Balaeniceps rexBalaeniceps rex (Shoebill)The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) 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. Although it has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified in the order Ciconiiformes, its true affiliations with other living birds is ambiguous. Some authorities now reclassify it with the Pelecaniformes. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are browner. It lives in tropical east Africa in large swamps from Sudan to Zambia. |
Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) Unique (100) Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) Unique & Vulnerable (100) ED Score: 51.3351 EDGE Score: 5.34396 |
| Adult Weight [1] | 13.04 lbs (5.915 kg) | | Female Weight [1] | 11.31 lbs (5.13 kg) | | Male Weight [1] | 14.771 lbs (6.70 kg) | | Weight Dimorphism [1] | 30.6 % |  | | Diet [2] | Carnivore (Vertebrates), Piscivore | | Diet - Ectothermic [2] | 20 % | | Diet - Endothermic [2] | 10 % | | Diet - Fish [2] | 70 % | | Forages - Water Surface [2] | 100 % | | | Clutch Size [4] | 2 | | Clutches / Year [1] | 1 | | Fledging [1] | 3 months 15 days | | Incubation [3] | 30 days | | Maximum Longevity [5] | 36 years | | Snout to Vent Length [1] | 3.936 feet (120 cm) | | | Female Maturity [1] | 2 years 12 months |
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| Name |
Countries |
Ecozone |
Biome |
Species |
Report |
Climate |
Land
Use |
|
Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands |
Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Zambia, Malawi |
Afrotropic |
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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East Sudanian savanna |
Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda |
Afrotropic |
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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Lake Chad flooded savanna |
Nigeria, Chad, Niger |
Afrotropic |
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas |
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Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets |
Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya |
Afrotropic |
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic |
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon |
Afrotropic |
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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Saharan flooded grasslands |
Sudan |
Afrotropic |
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas |
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Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic |
Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya |
Afrotropic |
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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Zambezian flooded grasslands |
Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia |
Afrotropic |
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas |
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Zambezian halophytics |
Mozambique, Botswana |
Afrotropic |
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas |
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| Name |
Location |
IBA Criteria |
Website |
Climate |
Land Use |
|
Ajai Wildlife Reserve |
Uganda |
A1, A3 |
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Akagera National Park |
Rwanda |
A1, A2, A3 |
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Bangweulu swamps |
Zambia |
A1, A3, A4i |
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Baro river |
Ethiopia |
A1, A4i, A4iii |
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Boma |
Sudan |
A1, A3 |
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Burigi: Biharamulo Game Reserves |
Tanzania |
A1, A2, A3 |
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Gambella National Park |
Ethiopia |
A1, A3 |
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Kyambura Wildlife Reserve |
Uganda |
A1, A3, A4i, A4iii |
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Lake Bisina |
Uganda |
A1, A2, A3 |
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Lake Mburo National Park |
Uganda |
A1, A2, A3 |
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Lake Nakuwa |
Uganda |
A1, A3 |
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Lake Opeta |
Uganda |
A1, A2, A3 |
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Lufira valley |
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the |
A1, A2, A3 |
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Mabamba Bay |
Uganda |
A1, A3 |
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Moyowosi: Kigosi Game Reserves |
Tanzania |
A1, A4i |
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Murchison Falls National Park |
Uganda |
A1, A3, A4i |
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Mweru Wantipa National Park |
Zambia |
A1, A3, A4i |
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Nabajjuzi Wetland |
Uganda |
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Nabugabo wetland |
Uganda |
A1, A3 |
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Queen Elizabeth National Park and Lake George |
Uganda |
A1, A3, A4i |
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Semliki reserves |
Uganda |
A1 |
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Sudd (Bahr-el-Jebel system) |
Sudan |
A1, A3, A4i, A4iii |
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Sumbu National Park and Tondwa GMA |
Zambia |
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Upemba National Park |
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the |
A1, A2, A3 |
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Virunga National Park |
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the |
A1, A2, A3 |
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| Name |
Location |
Endemic |
Species |
Website |
|
Eastern Afromontane |
Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zimbabwe |
No |
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 Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109 ♦ 2Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027 ♦ 3del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ♦ 4Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303 ♦ 5de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774 Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database |
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0
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