Shoebill
Balaeniceps rex
Korongonyangumi (Swahili), Bulwe (Luganda)
Conservation status
Vulnerable. The species is at risk from habitat loss due to agriculture, as well as hunting.
Habitat
Tropical, densely vegetated wetlands and swamps
Biology
The shoebill mainly feeds on large fish, which they patiently stalk. The bird’s name derives from its long, wide and thick clog-shaped bill.
Diorama
1972
All the “papyrus” was laboriously produced using triangular plastic tubes with a metal core.
Provenance
1959, 1960, Basel Zoological Gardens