"B. rex" redirects here. For the Tyrannosaurus specimen, see B-rex.
Shoebill
At the Pairi Daiza in Brugelette, Belgium
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
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 whalebill, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. However, genetic evidence places it with pelicans and herons in the Pelecaniformes. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are more brown. It lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia.
^BirdLife International (2018). "Balaeniceps rex". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22697583A133840708. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697583A133840708.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex), also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives...
egg helpless and naked in most. They lack a brood patch. The pelicans, shoebill and hamerkop form a clade within the order, with their next closest relatives...
Pelecaniformes, and its closest relatives are thought to be the pelicans and the shoebill. The shape of its head with a long bill and crest at the back is reminiscent...
Pelecaniformes, although it was traditionally placed in Ciconiiformes. The shoebill is the sole extant species and its closest relative is the hamerkop (Scopus...
tarsometatarsus, showed this bird to be closely related to the living shoebill. Its full name is Goliathia andrewsii, but may be closely related enough...
Pelecanus crispus Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Balaenicipitidae The shoebill was formerly thought to be related to storks but is in the same order as...
the hamerkop, and the shoebill have now been transferred into the Pelecaniformes. Molecular evidence suggests that the shoebill and the hamerkop form...
Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists'...
D.; Rasmussen, P. (January 2024). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List. v 14.1). Retrieved January 4, 2024....
Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists'...
Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists'...
"Mission"; Posthumous release) Impy's Island – Shoe the Shoebill Impy's Wonderland – Shoe the Shoebill Jungle Emperor Leo - Mother, Trainer Kirby: Right Back...
saddle-billed storks (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), goliath herons and shoebills (Balaeniceps rex). Larger corvids and some non-wading water birds (i.e...
D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (2022). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists'...
ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans, boobies & cormorants". World Bird List Version 7.3. International...
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