Scientific name: Balaeniceps rex (Gould, 1850).

The shoebill (also known as the shoe-billed stork or whale-headed stork) is native to the upper reaches of the White Nile in Uganda. It has a little tuft of feathers at the back of its head, and a huge, hooked bill. Despite its size and clumsiness, it settles in trees to roost at night. It is thought that, despite its common names, the shoebill is not genetically linked to the stork family.

They are the only species in the family Balaenicipitidae of the order Ciconiiformes.

Books: Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World