The Shoebill, called "Whale-headed Stork" in some older literature, is a unique bird of uncertain affinities. As the old name suggests, it was once thought to be a relative of storks but its habit of flying with neck retracted and powder-down patches suggested an affinity with herons. But skeletal and biochemical evidence now show it is more closely related to pelicans (Sibley & Ahlquist 1990, Ericson et al. 2006). Some (e.g., Sibley & Monroe 1990) reduced it to a subfamily of the Pelecanidae, but their divergence was far back in antiquity. I follow the Elliott (2002) and most recent authorities in retaining it as a unique monotypic family.
The Shoebill lives only in extensive papyrus swamps in the interior of central Africa, occurring locally from South Sudan to North Zambia. Perhaps it is most common in inaccessible wetlands of Eastern Tanzania, but few of its remote habitats can be reached without difficulty. The only place it can be found with relative ease is Uganda. The Mbamba swamp on Lake Victoria holds several pairs just a half-hour from the international airport at Entebbe, and additional birds are strung out along the Victoria Nile at Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda. Habitat and Shoebills also occur in Queen Elizabeth II Nat'l Park. One can drive to all these sites, but often a boat is necessary to find the bird itself. This interesting but scares and rare bird can again be found in the wet and swampy areas around L.Albert and the big river Semliki in Ntoroko District. near the boarder between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.