![]() ![]() We show that Shoebills stay in the Bangweulu Wetlands all year round, moving less than 3 km per day on 81% of days. We relate their movements at the start of the rainy season (October to December) to changes in Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), a proxy for surface water. Using GPS transmitters deployed on six immature and one adult Shoebills over a 5-year period, during which four immatures matured into adults, we analyse their home ranges and distances moved in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia. This study is the first to examine the movements of Shoebills ( Balaeniceps rex ), an iconic and vulnerable bird species. For wetland specialists, the seasonal availability of surface water may be a major determinant of their movement patterns. These findings could be useful for formulating guidelines for sustainable tourism to minimize disturbance and optimize breeding success in Shoebill populations.Īnimal movement is mainly determined by spatial and temporal changes in resource availability. Parents fledged 0.89 chicks per nest (n = 11 nests) when nests were actively protected from human disturbance and theft in 2012–2013. During 2011, breeding success was particularly low (20%, n = 10 nests) due to high levels of human disturbance, with chicks being removed from nests. Chick growth rates were as expected given the size of the species, and chicks reached a fledging mass of approximately 5.7 kg. Feeding peaked during the early and late morning. Attendance decreased as chicks aged, but prey provisioning remained constant throughout the nestling stage at 1.2 deliveries per day. ![]() Parental attendance was constant in the first 40 days of chick rearing, with attending parents only leaving the nest briefly to collect water for cooling the chicks or to collect material to maintain the nest. Chick growth and breeding success were monitored at the same time. For this study, nest attendance and prey provisioning were recorded with nest cameras for Shoebills in the Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia in 20. To provide protection to this threatened species, conservationists need a better understanding about Shoebill foraging and breeding ecology, their habitat use and their distribution. The majority of that population is concentrated in South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.Shoebills (Balaeniceps rex) breed in central-eastern Africa with a world population of only 5,000-8,000 individuals. Currently, the IUCN estimates there are between 3,300 and 5,300 adult shoebills left in the wild. In some areas, shoebills are also hunted for food, while in others they are killed because they are seen as bad omens. Habitat destruction and industrial pollution are affecting populations. Unfortunately, as one might imagine, the shoebill's major predator is us. To fend off predators from stealing eggs, shoebills build their nests in places that are difficult to reach, and they aren't afraid to get aggressive to defend that nest. In the wild, they can live for nearly 36 years and, as one might imagine, adults don't have major predators. Even mating pairs search for food on opposite ends of the territory. Interestingly, shoebills don't live in groups. But they can also hunt monitor lizards, baby crocodiles, turtles, and frogs. They primarily feast on lungfish, bichirs, catfish, and tilapia. ![]() Fish is the main component of their diet. Though shoebills are carnivores, they're looking for small prey. If you were wondering what these prehistoric-looking birds eat, don't worry-humans aren't on the menu. Then, they'll clatter their bills, much like storks do, to communicate with one another. Shoebills are typically silent except when they arrive at the nest. They're not only deliberate in their movements but also in their sounds. This means that they simply fall forward on their prey with their beaks wide open, scooping up their meal. And when the time is right, they make their move by exhibiting a behavior called collapsing. Shoebills can stand motionless for hours, waiting for the perfect moment to catch their prey. Just their clog-like beak, alone, measures a foot long and nearly half a foot wide.īut if you came upon a shoebill, there's a good chance you'd be intimidated not only by the size but the fact that they don't move. They can reach up to five-feet high with an eight-foot wingspan, making them fairly intimidating. Thanks to their stature, they truly are kings of their environment. Their thin legs with large feet give them the ability to wade through the vegetation of swamps and marshes from Ethiopia to Zambia. The shoebill's natural habitat is the swamps of eastern Africa. ![]()
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