Legendary and Mythic Birds / by Chris Maynard

Plumed serpent cut from an argus pheasant feather

Plumed serpent cut from an argus pheasant feather

This is Wikepedia’s list of mythic birds. They seem to have left out a major legendary creature, the Quetzalcoatl or plumed serpent of mesoamerica. God of wind and rain as well as of art and literature; creator of humans and perhaps destroyer also.

  • Adarna – has healing powers, put people to sleep, and turn people into stone (Philippines)

  • Aethon – eagle tormentor of Prometheus

  • Alkonost – female with body of a bird (Russian)

  • Alectryon – rooster (Greek)

  • Alicanto – bird with luminescent feathers which feeds on gold or silver (Chilean)

  • Bare-fronted Hoodwink

  • Bennu – self-creating deity, Phoenix (Egyptian)

  • Bird People

  • Cockatrice

  • Caladrius – white bird with healing powers (Roman)

  • Cetan – hawk spirit (Native American – Lakota tribe of North and South Dakota)

  • Chamrosh – body of a dog, head & wings of a bird (Persian Myth)

  • Chol (Biblical mythology) – regenerative bird

  • Cinnamon bird – builds nests out of cinnamon (Arabia)

  • Devil Bird – shrieks predicting death, like banshee (Sri Lankan)

  • Feng Huang – reigns over other birds (China)

  • Gandaberunda – two headed magical bird (Hindu)

  • Gamayun – prophetic bird with woman's head (Russian)

  • Garuda – known as the primordial bird and the progenitor of all birds; vehicle of Lord Vishnu (Hindu, Buddhist)

  • Griffin – guards treasure and priceless possessions (Greek)

  • Harpy – ugly winged bird woman, steals food (Greek)

  • Hræsvelgr – giant who takes the form of an eagle (Norse mythology)

  • Horus – deity (Egypt)

  • Hugin and Munin – two ravens that serve as messengers (Norse mythology)

  • Itsumade – monstrous bird with a human face (Japan)

  • Minokawa – Giant, Dragon-like bird in Philippines (Philippines)

  • Nachtkrapp – (The Night Raven)

  • Oozlum bird – (Australian and British folk tales)

  • Owlman – compared to America's Mothman (England)

  • Pamola – bird/moose spirit who causes cold weather (Abenaki)

  • Phoenix – (Greek)

  • Piasa  – Enormous bird outside of Alton Illinois, memorialized on rock painting;[1] last reported sighting 1973 when the bird carried off two children [2]

  • Ra – Deity (Egypt)

  • Rain Bird – bird who brought rain (Native American)

  • Roc – enormous legendary bird of prey

  • Shangyang – rainbird (Chinese)

  • Simurgh

  • Sirin – birds with women heads, lured men to their death (Russia, Greek)

  • Strix – owl that ate human flesh (Greek)

  • Stymphalian birds – man-eating birds (Greek)

  • Tengu – has human and bird characteristics, name means dog (Japan)

  • Three-legged bird (various cultures)

  • Thunderbird – (Native American, American Southwest, Great Lakes, and Great Plains)

  • Thoth – deity (Egypt)

  • Turul – mythological bird of prey

  • Vermilion Bird – (Chinese)

  • Vucub Caquix – bird demon

  • Yatagarasu – three-legged crow

  • Zhenniao – poisonous bird (Chinese)

  • Ziz – giant griffin (Jewish)

  • Zu – divine monster depicted as