Balaenicipitidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of birds in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Pelecaniformes The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally (but erroneously) defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such ...

, although it was traditionally placed in

Ciconiiformes Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

. The

shoebill The shoebill (''Balaeniceps rex''), also known as the whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has pre ...

is the sole extant species and its closest relative is the

hamerkop The hamerkop (''Scopus umbretta'') is a medium-sized bird. It is the only living species in the genus ''Scopus (bird), Scopus'' and the family (biology), family Scopidae. The species and family was long thought to sit with the Ciconiiformes but ...

(''Scopus umbretta''), which belongs to another family. Species from the Ciconiiformes and Balaenicipitidae family have been found in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and parts of East Africa. It has the following

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

: *'' Balaeniceps'' *†''

Goliathia ''Goliathia'' is an extinct genus of bird from the Early Oligocene. The holotype is an ulna recovered from lower beds of the Jebel Qatrani Formation in Faiyum Governorate, Egypt. Initially thought to be a heron, an additional bone, a tarsom ...

'' (might belong in ''Balaeniceps'') *†'' Paludiavis''

Common characteristics

* A sharp hooked tip to the upper beak * A furrow in the upper beak below the nasal openings * An ossified septum * Vestigial or absent expansor secundariorum muscle

References

Kasoma, P. M. B., & Pomeroy, D. E. (1987). The Status and Ecology of Storks and the Shoebill in East Africa. ''Colonial Waterbirds'', ''10''(2), 221–228. https://doi.org/10.2307/1521261 Bird families Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte {{Pelecaniformes-stub