The shoebill stork is also commonly known as a whale head and is a long-legged, large stork-like bird that got its name from its large, shoe-shaped bill. They are among the five unique desired birds in Africa and have been classified as Ciconiiformes as a result of their morphology.  Shoebills are found in tropical East Africa along the large freshwater swamps.

The shoebill stork is a slow bird that does not even fly for more than 500 meters, depending on each shoe's size. The shoe's distance of flight ranges between 100m and 500m because of its large nature, and its flapping rate is about 150 flaps per minute.  As it flies, its neck retracts.

The shoebill stork is described as a statue-bird species due to the fact that they are found standing and staying for a long period of time. They hate any kind of disturbance from humans, so once there is any disturbance by humans, they can leave their nests and look for habitation somewhere else.

Shoebill storks are always silent. Shoebill makes machines awesome. Gun noise is often performed while bill-cluttering displays during the nesting season as a sign of communication with the young ones.

The shoebill stork feeds on prey such as fish like tilapia, catfish, lungfish, and small fish, as well as frogs, baby crocodiles, snails, snakes, rodents, turtles, Nile monitor lizards, and small waterfowl, and the shoebills stay in muddy waters as they stalk prey slowly while waiting to ambush them.

The shoebill stork is found in freshwater swamp areas of central tropical Africa in parts of Uganda, Rwanda, southern Sudan, eastern Congo, West of Tanzania, and in the northern part of Zambia