The Shoebill is also knowns as the Whale-headed Stork, Whalebill, it acquired its name from the gargantuan shoe-shaped bill. The bill is specialized to allow the bird to catch and grab its prey. Reaching up to five feet tall, the shoebill has a grey plumage with a wingspan of 8 feet, their feet are long and thin which enables them to wade on the vegetation of freshwater wetlands in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Zambia. The Shoebill can stay immobile for many hours waiting for the opportune time to catch their favorite Lungfish
Shoebill, Balaeniceps
rex
Very large
marsh birds, endemic to Africa, found in locally tropical swamps, unique
characteristics, huge swollen, bulbous bills tipped with the strong hooked nail, mandible with sharp edges, legs with very long toes supporting the bird when
walking on submerged vegetation, in-flight head and neck retracted like
heron, not outstretched like storks; walks on aquatic vegetation very slowly and
deliberately, often sinking in up to the tibiotarsal joint, fishing birds normally
stand motionless for long periods, intently regarding water
Ranges
& Status: Swamps in, Southwest Sudan, Western Ethiopia, Uganda, Zaire, Tanzania, and Zambia. Food:
fish, frogs, water snakes, fish including lungfish, catfish
Breeding:
Nest singly in swamps, on floating vegetation, Eggs 1-3, Both sexes incubate. Shoebill reaches maturity at three years and the breeding pair are customarily monogamous, the nest is built on floating vegetation where the female lays one to two eggs, and both the female and male incubate and look after the eggs and chicks when they hatch. The incubation period is 30 days, and both adults feed, brood, and tend the chicks
The exhibition showcases not only currencies but also various historical currencies over the 50 years of the Central Bank’s existence. The display includes notes and coins from the East African Currency Board era as well as Kenya’s first post-independence legal tender. A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to young learners. The exhibition will remain open to the public for the next six months for more details visit their
