ShoeBill Stork in Uganda-Mabamba Swamp.

Although Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees are the most highlights when it comes to Uganda safaris and Wildlife, Shoe bill Stork is also among the most sought after bird in Africa. Shoebill stork found in Uganda the Pearl of Africa, Uganda, this incredible bird species with archaic features reaches heights of up to 150 cm (5 feet) and weights up to 14 pounds.

The Arabs called the Shoe bill Stork “Abu Maruk,” meaning father of the shoe; with his unusual bill, one may refer to the Shoe bill Stork as a flying shoe.

Way of Life for Uganda’s shoebill stork

Amazingly a shoe bill in Uganda stork may live for approximately 50 years. Shoe bill storks are solitary animals that create monogamous partnerships during mating season, which runs between April and June. Usually laying two eggs, both parents share incubation responsibilities for a month before the chicks are born and have to be nursed for many months before they can begin searching for their own food. Their nests are built on the ground.

Shoebill stock: How? Make it through.

The Shoe Charge The sharp blades on their large beak let Stork in Uganda, a swamp specialist, subsist on a diet of mostly lungfish supplemented with frogs, puddle fish, even juvenile crocodiles and water snakes. As they search for lungfish, they are stealth-like as they are nocturnal and lack webbed feet.

Their heads and necks retracted, their wingspan vast, they look slow on the ground but are elegant in the air and when attacking their target they draw back their wings and approach their prey in a fashion exhibiting their might.

About 1000 + Shoe bill Storks remain in Uganda today; their main threat is development; sometimes they are targeted by fisherman as they are seen as a bad sign if observed before entering the lake. As Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees show, tourism may once again be rather helpful in their preservation.

With nearly 1,045 distinct bird species and considered to be a bird paradise/destination, Uganda is Pearl of Africa The greatest place to find the Elusive Ancient seeming Shoe bill Stork is Uganda.

Not one place in all of Africa can equal the range of birdlife Uganda has to offer, including Shoe bill Stork.