Shoebill stork Facts; Size, Height, weight, diet & More: Uganda Shoebill

10 Interesting Facts about Shoebill Stork

Shoebill Stork Height

Considered among the top 25 largest birds in the world, shoebills are tall with a height measuring between 110 and 140 cm and other shoebill depending on the location can grow up to 152 cm. Their tails range from 100 to 140 cm and their wings span from 230 to 260 cm.

Uganda shoebill in Mabamba swamp

Shoebill Stork Size

Due it’s enormous height, Shoebills are considered among the biggest birds and can weigh between 4 and 7 kg with males’ weight by average measures 5.6 kg. Male shoebills are considered more heavier than females that weigh about 4.9 kg.

What makes the shoebill to weigh that much is it’s unique large, bulbous bills that are straw-colored with erratic greyish markings. The shoebill’s bill that measures closely between 18.8cm and 24 cm, is ranked 3rd longest bill among the extant birds after pelicans and storks.

Just the shoebill’s wingas alone is between 58.8-78 cm long. The plumage of adult birds is blue-grey and the darker slaty-grey flight feathers.

Shoebill Stork Flying

Given the fact that shoebills are large birds, many people wonder if they are able to fly with that heavy beak and body. Yes, shoebills can fly for 100-500 meters and rarely take long flights but incase a predator is sensed, the shoebill may fly even for a longer distance than 500m.
When flying, Shoebill wings are held flat and they fly with their necks retracted. Flapping at approximately a rate of 150 flaps per minute, gives the shoebill one of the slowest flying birds but, ofcourse it gets them high and faster enough to escape their predators.

Shoebill Stork Location (Where to see shoebill)

The Shoebill Storks live in freshwater swampy area of tropical Africa. Majorily, you can find shoebill in East african swampy areas in the countries of Southern part of Sudan and South Sudan; Uganda, Rwanda, Western Tanzania, and Northern Zambia.

Behavior
The Shoebill moves slowly and often stays still for longer time a reason they are often referred to as “statue-like” species. They are among sensitive species to human disturbance and can leave nests in case they are flushed by humans. They dominate the poorly oxygenated water areas, especially marshes, swamps and bogs where fish often surfaces to breathe.

Shoebill Breeding

The Shoebills are naturally solitary species and therefore do not like living in groups. Unlike pelicans, cormorants and herons that nest in colonies, the shoebills use nests for breeding. The adults are responsible for defending the territory of about 2 to 4 sq.km from any conspecifics. Nesting is always done immediately after the end of rainy season.

Fully grown shoebill stork with lung fish

Shoebill Diet (What do shoebills eat?)

Considering their sharp-edged beaks, the Shoebills can hunt huge prey. shoebills primarily eat fish, specifically, they have a strong preference for lungfish, but will also prey on frogs, water snakes, and young crocodiles.
The shoebill is a solitary species meaning they prefer to live a lone, choosing to forage 20 metres or more apart and when breeding, less than three nests are found per square kilometre.

Shoebill Stork Lifespan

Shoebills have an average life span of about 50 years but they can reach maturity just at 3-4 years. The breeding pairs are monogamous and co-parents, eggs, and juveniles (young shoebills) are protected by both parents. Like many other birds, shoebilla hatching often takes place between 30 and 40 days.
The adult shoebills actively feed, guard, shade the nestling although the females are often more attentive. Shoebill’s bills play an important part in cooling the eggs with water during the hot weather, especially when temperatures are about 30 to 33 degrees celsius. The eggas need warmth for hatching to occur.
Globally, there are just about 3300-5300 adult shoebills existing and out of these over 1000 shoebills are found in Uganda.

2 adult shoebills showing monogamous relationship

Where to find Shoebills in Uganda?

Uganda’s some of th ebest places to sight shoebill Stork on a safari include Semuliki National Park, Mabamba Wetland/Swamp, Makanaga Swamp, Lugogo Swamp in Nakasongola, during a safari boat ride in Murchison Falls National Park (around Lake Albert Delta), game drive in the Ishasha sector in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda Wildlife Education Center, Lwera Swamp, Kyakakuza Swamp, and others.

In summary, out of the 1080 bird species in Uganda, the country is considered a preferred birding safari destination. Shoebills are by far the most sought-for birds on every Uganda birding tour.