Reproduction

Shoebills reach maturity at three to four years old, and breeding pairs are monogamous. These birds are
very solitary in nature, though, and even mating pairs will feed at opposite sides of their territory.
Breeding pairs build nests on water or on floating vegetation, and can be up to eight feet wide. Females
lay an average of two eggs at the end of the rainy season.

As co-parents, both birds tend to the eggs and young. This includes incubating and turning eggs, and
cooling them with water they bring to the nest in their large bills. Hatching occurs in about a month.
Chicks have bluish-gray down covering their bodies and a lighter colored bill. Only one chick typically
survives to fledge.

Conservation

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that there are only between 3,300 and
5,300 adult shoebills left in the world, and the population is going down.

As land is cleared for pasture, habitat loss is a major threat, and sometimes cattle will trample on nests.
Agricultural burning and pollution from the oil industry and tanneries also affect their habitats. Shoebills
are hunted as food in some places, and in others, they're hunted because they’re considered a bad
omen.