Bird

The Shoebill

The shoebill, a strange and fascinating bird found in African wetlands, helps to preserve aquatic ecosystems by filtering water, underlining the importance of conservation for these unusual species.

A remarkable beak : in the shape of a 25cm-long and 10cm-wide shoe

a large, pearl-grey wader bird

this bird is so rare and shy that European scientists only discovered him in 1850 during expeditions in the vast marshlands of Africa, at the source of the Nile.

Living in wetlands, he feeds on fish, but also on snakes, frogs, young monitors or crocodiles that he swallows whole while dredging the mud with his curious beak.

It is an animal rarely seen in captivity: Pairi Daiza was the first park in the world to hatch two large gray chicks in 2008: Abou and Marqoub.

Nile shoebills can be seen at Pairi Daiza between mid-May and September. As they have free access to their inner and outer territories, you may not be able to see them.