Shoebill

The Shoebill, the only living species of the Balaenicipitidae family in the Pelecaniformes order, is an intriguing bird with a distinctive sharp hook at the tip of its upper beak, a furrow under the nasal openings, an ossified septum, and a vestigial or entirely absent expansor secundariorum muscle. Despite traditionally being associated with storks (Ciconiiformes), it is now more accurately aligned with pelicans and related species. Its nearest relative is the hamerkop, which is part of a different family. This unique family once included other genera like the possible Balaeniceps member Goliathia and the genus Paludiavis, which are both now extinct.

Species Categories

African & Green Broadbills African & New World Parrots African Barbets Albatrosses Anhingas, Darters Auks Austral Storm Petrels Barn Owls Bee-eaters Bulbuls Buntings Bushshrikes Bustards Buttonquail Caracaras, Falcons Cettia Bush Warblers & Allies Chats, Old World Flycatchers Cisticolas & Allies Cormorants, Shags Coursers, Pratincoles Cranes Crombecs, African Warblers Crows, Jays Cuckoos Cuckooshrikes Dapple-throat & Allies Drongos Ducks, Geese, Swans Egyptian Plover Fairy Flycatchers Figbirds, Orioles, Turnagra Finches, Euphonias Finfoots Flamingos Flufftails Frigatebirds Gannets, Boobies Grassbirds & Allies Grebes Ground Babblers Ground Hornbills Guineafowl Gulls, Terns, Skimmers Hamerkop Herons, Bitterns Honeyguides Hoopoes Hornbills Hylias Hyliotas Ibises, Spoonbills Indigobirds, Whydahs Jacanas Kingfishers Kites, Hawks, Eagles Larks Laughingthrushes & Allies Leaf Warblers & Allies Monarchs Mousebirds New World Quail Nicators Nightjars Northern Storm Petrels Old World Parrots Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches Ospreys Ostriches Owls Oxpeckers Oystercatchers Painted-snipes Pelicans Penduline Tits Penguins Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels Pheasants & Allies Pigeons, Doves Pittas Plovers Rails, Crakes & Coots Reed Warblers & Allies Rockfowl Rollers Sandgrouse Sandpipers, Snipes Secretarybird Shoebill Shrikes Skuas Starlings, Rhabdornis Stilts, Avocets Stone-curlews, Thick-knees Storks Streaked Scrub Warbler Sunbirds Swallows, Martins Swifts Sylviid Babblers Thrushes Tits, Chickadees Treecreepers Trogons Tropicbirds Turacos Typical Broadbills Vangas & Allies Wagtails, Pipits Wattle-eyes, Batises Waxbills, Munias & Allies Weavers, Widowbirds White-eyes Wood Hoopoes Woodpeckers Yellow Flycatchers

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What Our Birders Say

BCHphotography_

Such a great app!

I didn’t think I could enjoy birding more but this app makes it so much better. Some great features and a really great way to share your sightings with your friends or fellow birders nearby or around the world! ❤️

Patricia L

Very encouraging birding app

Easy to use, fun to see progress and encouraging to receive feedback from other users.

Mike T

Sense of Community

A great app, which is continually being improved. What really comes through is the passion of those behind the app. The sense of community is brilliant, so much help and support provided to new and/or in experienced birders.

Carl B

Helped me to identify more birds

Love this app and has helped me to identify more birds. The challenges and badges are great for keeping the motivation going to get out and keep birding.

Chudbond

Love Birda

I love this app. It really encourages you to log your sightings and the community is friendly and helpful.

Abi.M

Awesome App

I really enjoy using this app! It is such a friendly community of bird-lovers who are happy to help if I need ID advice. It’s been great motivation to get outdoors and go birding more! 10/10 😍😍

Emcil24

A Friendly Place

I love using the bird app, I have a pretty good knowledge of birds. But I do have some gaps in it, so it’s nice to have a safe space to check on a sighting to confirm the species. It’s really enjoyable and I love the badges you can collect. It’s like a real life Pokémon go.

Bryan C

Clean and easy to use

Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.

D3Nature

Great app for learning Birds

I’ve been using the app for a couple of months and love it....Someone said it’s like a real life Pokémon Go for birds. They’re not far off! It’s something that the family can do that gets you out and about. Well worth downloading no matter your age.

Talli A

My favourite app

As a young birdwatcher who was always keen to be apart of a community but never seemed to find one, my problem was solved downloading this!!! Everyone is so friendly and just as excited to see birds as me 😁

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