Journal

Searching for the Shoebill in Uganda’s Swamps

Prehistoric-looking and famously patient, the shoebill is Uganda's most sought-after bird. Here is where to find it.

5 August 2026

Photo: Sjoerdug / CC BY-SA 4.0

Standing up to 1.5 metres tall with a huge clog-shaped bill, the shoebill looks like something from the age of dinosaurs. It can stand motionless for hours, waiting for a lungfish to surface.

Mabamba Swamp

Just an hour from Entebbe, Mabamba is the most reliable site. Local guides take you through the papyrus channels in wooden canoes — a perfect first or last morning of a Uganda trip.

Murchison Falls

The Nile delta, where the river enters Lake Albert, is another excellent site, reached by boat from Paraa.

Tips

Go early, bring binoculars and be patient. Your guide will know where birds have been seen recently.

Explore our birding safaris.

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