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Nat Theo Nature Lessons Rooted in the Bible

Is a Shoebill a Stork? Lesson 125

Nat Theo Nature Lessons Rooted in the Bible

Eryn Lynum

Education For Kids, Religion & Spirituality, Kids & Family, Christianity

4.8 • 616 Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Step into the marsh with one of the strangest (and coolest) birds on Earth: the shoebill—often called a “shoebill stork,” even though it’s not actually a stork! Discover how God designed these unique birds with their razor-sharp bills, massive feet, and piercing eyes, and what they teach us about being adopted into God’s family.

Here’s our trail map:

  • Is a Shoebill a Stork?
  • Can a Shoebill Eat a Crocodile?
  • How Are People Saving Shoebills from Extinction?
  • How Has God Adopted Us?

Download this lesson’s free coloring sheet: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/is-a-shoebill-a-stork/

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Scriptures Referenced in This Episode:

“Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ.” Romans 3:23-24 (NCV)

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!...” 1 John 3:1a (NLT)

Terms Learned in This Episode:

  • Taxonomy: The sorting and naming of living things in nature.
  • Pelecaniformes: An order of waterbirds including pelicans, shoebill, and hamerkop.
  • Monotypic: When a creature is the only kind in its taxonomy group.
  • Balaenicipitidae: A Family of animals including only the shoebill.
  • Bill-clattering: A unique sound made by a shoebill when it rapidly claps together its bill to communicate.
  • Ambush Predator: An animal that hunts by staying very still (often camouflage) and then striking.
  • Vulnerable Species: A type of animal or plant that is at a high risk of going extinct in the wild.

This podcast episode contains paid advertisements.

Mentioned in this episode:

Magnify: A Wild & Wonderful Summer Adventure by Nat Theo

Join us for summer Bible & nature study! https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/magnify

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This summer, we invite you to explore God's wild and wonderful world in a whole new way with

0:07.5

Magnify, a wild and wonderful summer adventure. This nine-week experience is a child-led,

0:15.1

low-prep way to enjoy meaningful nature study right where you live. Each week your family will discover and delight

0:22.8

in God's fingerprints through birds, flowers, amphibians, insects, fungi, and more. With guided

0:30.3

nature journaling, trusted book and resource lists, devotions, and three live classes with me

0:37.0

throughout the summer, Magnify gives you everything

0:40.0

you need for a season of wonder, learning, and faith-filled discovery. Magnify is designed to

0:47.5

help your family slow down, step outside, and stand in awe of God's creation.

0:54.2

Join us this summer at the Natural Theology Project.com slash magnify or through the link

1:00.2

in our show notes.

1:05.2

Are you ready to explore God's wild and wonderful world?

1:14.6

Welcome to the Nat Theo podcast.

1:17.5

I'm your host, Aaron Linem.

1:19.2

I'm a certified master naturalist, Bible teacher, and author.

1:23.0

And I am so excited to dive into God's written word, the Bible, and his created world with you.

1:43.6

Have you ever seen a picture or a video of an animal? And you thought right away, that cannot be real.

1:49.4

That is how I felt about a year ago when my dad sent me a picture and an article about shoe bills.

1:57.3

Shoal bills are tall birds that can grow to be around four feet or 1.2 meters tall.

2:03.8

So around as tall as a seven or eight-year-old child might be, that is a tall bird.

2:11.3

And they look as though they came from a science fiction movie set.

2:16.3

But they are indeed a unique and real and amazing bird that

2:23.0

God designed. What makes a shoe bill look so unreal? Maybe it's the massive bill that looks like

...

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