Storks

Storks are big birds! The only stork in the U.S. is the wood stork, which I have seen in Florida, maybe only once. They are definitely a bird of the far South, but a few wander further west or up the Atlantic coast. Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, where I live, has only one recorded wood stork historically (on eBird); in August 2022 a single stork visited for a few weeks. And I didn’t see it.

The wood stork is a very large white bird with partially black wings. It has a bald wrinkly, gray head and a very thick greyish bill. This bird lives in wetlands. It is not to be confused with another large-ish wetlands bird; the smaller, grayer, and more streamlined great blue heron has a much more attractive head. Non-birders commonly misidentify the great blue heron as a stork, due to its impressive size and tall upright stance.

The Bible mentions storks, which are among the unclean animals, and it acknowledges different kinds of storks. “And the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat” (Leviticus 11:19). “The stork, and the heron in their kinds, and the hoopoe and the bat” (Deuteronomy 14:18).

Another passage focuses on the distinct wings of storks. “Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens” (Zechariah 5:9). There is a reason God chose stork wings and not crow wings or hummingbird wings. The white stork, common in the Middle East, has a wingspan of five to seven feet. In addition to being very long, the wings are also exceptionally broad. I looked at a photo of this bird in flight, and it looks like all wings! Okay, maybe 80% wings. These strong wings are used for powerful flapping interspersed with efficient gliding, making storks capable of long flights.

The Bible also talks about the storks’ nesting habits. “Where the birds build their nests, and the stork, whose home is in the fir trees” (Psalm 104:17). The verse is speaking of the cedars of Lebanon, so I researched the storks that would be found in that country. There are two. The black stork (mostly black, with white underneath) lives in coniferous forests and builds bulky nests of sticks high in trees. The white stork (mostly white, with black toward the tail) also builds bulky stick nests high in trees.

Finally, the Bible speaks of the stork in relation to migration. “Even the stork in the sky knows her seasons; and the turtledove and the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration; but My people do not know the ordinance of the LORD” (Jeremiah 8:7). Storks know their time to relocate for the winter and summer. In the country of Lebanon, black stork sightings peak in late March through mid-May, then again in September and October. The white stork peaks mid-March through May, then again in August. They are daytime migrators and can be seen in impressive flocks of hundreds.

In the U.S., the wood stork is considered a partial migrant, meaning that some birds remain for the winter. In the big picture, the birds leave the southeastern U.S. in October to November, wintering in Central and South America, before returning in March and April. However, some birds will remain year-round, as long as their habitat remains flooded and they can find food; these birds may move locally or regionally in pursuit of better conditions.

One final note. In the Zechariah passage quoted above, the women with stork-like wings are carrying an ephah (probably like a bushel basket). Those storks are not using the basket to deliver babies to their new families! But there was a woman sitting inside the basket that the others carried. So maybe this passage contributed to the tradition of storks carrying babies. Certainly it is in keeping with the reality of their powerful wings.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.