Distribution and Habitat
Distributed in freshwater swamps of central tropical Africa, from southern Sudan through parts of of eastern Zaire, Rwanda, Uganda and western Tanzania. Most numerous in the West Nile sub-region and adjacent areas of the south Sudan, significant also in wetlands of Uganda and western Tanzania. More isolated records have been reported in Kenya, the Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, southwestern Ethiopia, Malawi. Vagrant strays to the Okavango Basin, Botswana and the upper Congo have also been sighted. The distribution of this species seem to largely coincide with that of papyrus and lungfish. The Shoebill is non-migratory with limited seasonal movements due to habitat changes, food availability and disturbance by humans.
The Shoebill occurs in extensive, dense freshwater marshes. Almost all wetlands that attract the species have undisturbed Cyperus papyrus and reedbeds of Phragmites and Typha. Although their distribution largely seems to correspond with the distribution of papyrus in central Africa, the species seems to avoid pure papyrus swamps and often attracted to areas with mixed vegetation. More rarely, the species has been seen foraging in rice fields and flooded plantations.
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