3/2/2024 0 Comments Shoebill pelican" Phylogeny and Classification of Birds Based on the Data of DNA- DNA Hybridization." Current Ornithology 1(1983): 245–292.The Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) known as the Whale-headed stork or Shoe-billed stork, is a prehistoric-looking long-legged wading bird species native to Central and East Africa. "Shoebill." Bulletin of the African Bird Club 1 (March 1994). Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World. Cambridge, United Kingdom: ICBP, 1985.ĭel Hoyo, J., A. Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands. London: Academic Press, 1982.Ĭollar, N.J., and S.N. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions and Cambridge, United Kingdom: BirdLife International, 2000.īrown, L.H., E.K. Significance to humansīirdLife International. Total population is estimated at 12,000–15,000 birds. The parents may do this as many as five times on hot days. In addition, parents cool their young by bringing water and pouring this over the chicks. By 95 days, the young begin to wander off the nest and they can fly about ten days later.īoth parents feed and care for the young. Following this, parents spend less time at the nest while collecting food for the chicks. During the first 35 days, they cannot stand and are brooded by the adults. The young stay in the nest for up to 105 days. During hot weather the parents may bring water that they regurgitate to cool the eggs.Īt hatching, the young are downy, white, or silvery gray. Eggs are laid at intervals of up to five days. One to three (usually two) dull white eggs are laid. When nests are built in the swamp, supplementation may be necessary to counteract sinking sometimes the nest is built on a solid mound. The nest is made of aquatic vegetation and measures up to 8 ft (2.5 m) across. Because shoebills feed in stagnant swamps, fish prey are caught when they come to the surface for air. Shoebills feed primarily on lungfish ( Protopterus aethiopicus), bichirs, catfish and other fish. If the feeding attempt is unsuccessful, it usually moves to new location. The shoebill usually swallows water after feeding. The vegetation is separated from the prey. When prey is sighted, the shoebill thrusts its whole body forward, wings outstretched, as the bird attempts to seize its prey. Pointed downwards, almost motionless, sometimes for over thirty minutes. Shoebills use a stand-and-wait approach, although they occasionally feed by walking slowly. Shoebills are slow-moving, sedentary birds that are silent, except during nest building, when they make clapping noises with their bills. At favored locations, several birds may fish near each other. Swamps and marshy lakeside, usually where papyrus ( Cyperus papyrus) or cattails ( Typha spp.) are dominant. DistributionĬentral Africa: Most populous in southern Sudan and northern Uganda, but also found in Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Rwanda. The female is similar in all respects but slightly smaller than the male. In flight, the neck is retracted as in herons not outstretched as in storks. The toes are long: 6.6–7.3 in (16.8–18.5 cm) long and completely divided the claw of the hind toe is larger than those on the fore-toes. The bill is yellowish with irregular dark patches. Most prominent is the enormous, almost bulbous, prominently hooked bill, which resembles a shoe and lends the bird its common name. The bird is gray to blue-gray with an ashy gray crown. The shoebill stands about 43–55 in (110–140 cm) tall. Suggestions that it is related to pelicans based on skull structure have been discounted, although recent DNA analyses support this relationship. It was first classified in 1850 by Gould, who spotted the creature along the banks of the upper White Nile and called it "the most extraordinary bird I have seen for many years". The shoebill ( Balaeniceps rex), with one genus and species, has been placed within its own family and has traditionally been allied with the storks and/or herons. Habitat Swamps, primarily papyrus swamps or cattail marshesĭistribution Central Africa: Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Rwanda Evolution and systematics Number of genera, species 1 genus 1 species Size 4 ft (120 cm) wing: 31 in (780 mm) bill: 7.5 in (191 mm) male slightly larger than female Thumbnail description This is a large gray wading bird with a very large bulbous bill tipped with a hooked nail legs are long with long toes allowing the bird to walk on submerged aquatic vegetation in flight the neck is retracted like herons not outstretched as in storks
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