The shoebill stork is a long-legged bird from Africa, which is of uncertain relationships.

The dendrograms produced, find this bird to be closest to pelicans and their relatives (but excluding the tropicbirds). The hammerhead stork, another African bird of uncertain relationships, is also found to be related to the shoebill stork, but isnt placed as closely.

More distantly there mignt be a link with the storks, but no special relationship is found here with the herons, ibises and spoonbills, tubenoses or tropicbirds.