Shoebill
Balaeniceps rex Gould, 1850
The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex), also called Whalehead or Whale-headed stork, is a living bird in the family Balaenicipitidae of the order Pelecaniformes. It is a medium-sized bird by adult body mass, with a representative adult mass of 5.9 kg and reported values from 5.13 to 6.7 kg.
Quick facts about the shoebill
A sedentary, terrestrial-foraging aquatic predator of wetland habitat, it eats foods including marbled lungfish, west african lungfish, tilapia, clarias, polypterus senegalus, snail and carrion. The shoebill is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and lays a clutch of 2 eggs once a year with an incubation period of 30 days.
- Weight
- 5.13 kg – 6.7 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 35.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- anseriformes, anura, carrion, clarias, marbled lungfish, polypterus senegalus and 7 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 30 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.7 – 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.98 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the shoebill
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the shoebill live?
Not recorded
What is 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Shoebill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shoebill&oldid=1381585243), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the shoebill sound like?
Is the shoebill endangered?
The shoebill is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the shoebill classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyBalaenicipitidae
- genusBalaeniceps
- SpeciesBalaeniceps rex Gould, 1850
Other names and names in other languages (45)
- Whale-headed storkEnglish
- Whale-headed storkEnglish
- WhaleheadEnglish
- SkoenbekooievaarAfrikaans
- أبو أحذيةArabic
- أبو مركوبArabic
- حذاء النيل الأبيضArabic
- picuzapatuAsturian
- Китоглава чаплаBulgarian
- bec d'esclopCatalan
- člunozobec africkýCzech
- ciconia pig esgidWelsh
- TræskonæbDanish
- SchuhschnabelGerman
- ŝubekuloEsperanto
- PicozapatoSpanish
- kingnokkEstonian
- لکلک نیلPersian
- kenkänokkaFinnish
- Bec-en-sabotFrench
- Baléniceps roisFrench
- Bec-en-sabot du NilFrench
- krupnokljuna rodaCroatian
- papucscsőrű madárHungarian
- Becco a scarpaItalian
- ハシビロコウJapanese
- 슈빌Korean
- klumpiasnapisLithuanian
- SchoenbekooievaarDutch
- treskonebbNorwegian
- trzewikodzióbPolish
- bico-de-sapatoPortuguese
- bico-de-tamancoPortuguese
- cegonha-bico-de-sapatoPortuguese
- КитоглавRussian
- Королевская цапляRussian
- člnozobec veľkýSlovak
- Cipelokljuna rodaSerbian
- träskonäbbSwedish
- นกกระสาปากพลั่วThai
- PabuçgagaTurkish
- Pabuç Gagalı LeylekTurkish
- китоголовUkrainian
- 鯨頭鸛Chinese
- 鲸头鹳Chinese
Relatives of the shoebill
Other species in the same order Pelecaniformes.
Grey heron
Ardea cinerea
Great egret
Ardea alba
Black-crowned night heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Western cattle egret
Ardea ibis
Eurasian bittern
Botaurus stellaris
Little egret
Egretta garzetta
CompareShoebill vs Grey heronShoebill vs Great egretShoebill vs Black-crowned night heronShoebill vs Western cattle egret
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the shoebill?
The shoebill is a bird in the family Balaenicipitidae, order Pelecaniformes. It is also called Whalehead or Whale-headed stork.
How heavy is a shoebill?
An adult Shoebill has a representative body mass of 5.9 kg, with reported values from 5.13 to 6.7 kg. This places it in the medium size class.
What does the shoebill eat?
The shoebill is a carnivorous aquatic predator. Its main foods include marbled lungfish, west african lungfish, tilapia, clarias, siluriformes, polypterus senegalus, anura, varanus niloticus, testudines, rodent, anseriformes, snail and carrion.
Is the shoebill endangered?
The shoebill is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does a shoebill live?
The shoebill has a lifespan of up to 36 years.
How many eggs does a shoebill lay?
The shoebill lays a clutch of 2 eggs, with 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 30 days.
Who named the shoebill?
The shoebill, Balaeniceps rex, was named by Gould, 1850.
Where does the shoebill live?
The shoebill lives in wetland habitat and is sedentary. Its geographic range covers 1,282,000 km².
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/shoebill
“Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/shoebill.
@misc{shoebill_2026,
title = {Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/shoebill},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}