Colours of Wildlife: Shoebill

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Shoebill

Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"

Shoebill by Willem


This is a Shoebill or Whalehead, sometimes called Shoe-billed stork or Whale-headed stork. Its scientific name, Balaeniceps rex, means 'whale-head king'. Although it was long regarded as being a relative of storks, it is now considered to be more closely related to pelicans. However you cut it, though, it is a very unique species, currently classified as constituting its own family within the pelican order. Shoebills occur only in Africa, and over a rather restricted range. They live in lush swamps with plentiful, tall papyrus (a kind of sedge) and reeds. Another feature they need, is food – mainly one kind of fish, the lungfish. Shoebills are most common in the vast swamps of North-East, East and Central Africa. They've not yet been recorded in my own country, South Africa, but strays have been seen in the Okavango swamps of our neighbour country Botswana.


Shoebills surely rank among the strangest-looking of birds. They're very big, standing up to 152 cm/5' tall. They have big bodies supported on long legs, but their necks are comparatively short. They have very long toes compared to similar-sized birds like storks. Their heads are big and their bills enormous, both deep and broad, among the heaviest of all bird beaks. The plumage is slaty grey, and there's a silly, small tuft of feathers at the back of the head. There's a slight green gloss on the upperparts, and the flight feathers are somewhat darker than the rest of the plumage. If seen well, a shoebill can't be confused with anything else.


It is, however, rather difficult to see shoebills well. They dwell deep in the swamps, using their long toes to clamber over tangles of aquatic vegetation. For humans it is difficult to traverse these swamps either on foot or in a boat. Still, there are tours at present for going to see shoebills, and perhaps the best place to see them is the country of Uganda. While shoebills spend most of the time between the papyrus and reeds, they sometimes emerge to soar high above the swamps like eagles or vultures. If they're not too far off, they can be identified in flight by noting their big heads, which they pull back onto their shoulders while flying. Their legs and feet stick out well beyond their tail. They've a very slow-flapping flight when not soaring.


Shoebills spend much of their time standing very still. They wait for prey to approach close to them, and then lunge with their entire bodies to strike at it. Other times they might slowly walk through the swamp, scanning the water surface with their keen eyes. They hunt solitarily, distanced at least 20 m from other hunting shoebills. The prey can be a diversity of fish and frogs. As I've said, they prefer lungfish. The swamps where they live have rather stagnant water, poor in oxygen. The lungfish periodically come to the surface to breathe in some air, and this is what the shoebill is waiting for. It grabs the lungfish and uses its bill to quickly dismember it and then swallow the pieces. Lungfish up to 1m long have been seen to be caught by these birds. They also eat other fish species like bichir, catfish and Tilapia. They often also get water, mud and water plants in their mouths, which they let fall out of the sides of their bills. Other than fish or frogs, they sometimes eat snakes, lizards, small turtles, rodents, small wetland birds, some invertebrates like snails, and even baby crocodiles. They'll also scavenge dead swamp animals.


The lungfish, their main prey, have the ability to survive out of water for long periods. In many regions, swamps and marshes are only inundated during the wet season (usually spring and summer). In the dry season, the water retreats and the swamp or marsh dries out. Lungfish can survive these waterless times by digging down into the mud, secreting a slimy cocoon around themselves. They go into a torpor, barely breathing, waiting for the water to return. But even then they're vulnerable to shoebills, who may use their bills to dig in the mud and extract the dormant lungfish.


The huge bill is also used for communication. Shoebills have voices, having been heard to utter a variety of calls like moos, whines and croaks, but also make rattling sounds by rapid bill-clattering.


Like most birds, shoebills form monogamous pairs. They breed after the last rains in the season, when the water level is highest. They build a big floating platform of vegetation, and on top of this their nest. They lay one to three eggs, but typically only raise a single chick. Both parents feed it, regurgitating food into its bill. The chick fledges at the age of about 105 days. Its parents will keep feeding it for a while longer, giving it time to hone its own hunting skills. Shoebills are sexually mature at the age of three years.


Currently, shoebills have a conservation status of 'vulnerable'. They are dependent on very specific environmental factors, and wetland destruction or degradation is shrinking their habitat. Shoebills also don't like being disturbed, and too many people entering their swamps may cause them to leave, or may disrupt their breeding efforts. In some places, shoebills are hunted. With an overall world population of only 5 000 to 8 000 individuals, they can't really tolerate much of this. They're vitally dependent on conservation. At least at present, there are still some large, pristine swamp regions left to them. They're very sought-after by bird watchers, and at least in some places like Uganda, a significant factor in drawing tourists.

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