Shoebill
| Shoebill | |
|---|---|
| At the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo | |
CITES Appendix II
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Balaenicipitidae |
| Genus: | Balaeniceps Gould, 1850 |
| Species: | B. rex
|
| Binomial name | |
| Balaeniceps rex Gould, 1850
| |
| range | |
The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex), also known as the whale-headed stork, whalebill, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. Its name comes from 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 places it with pelicans and herons in the Pelecaniformes. Adults are mainly grey, while juveniles are browner. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia.