Jump to content

List of fictional birds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mythealias (talk | contribs) at 09:12, 16 August 2009 (Added back edits by User:Quiddity on 02:46, 16 August 2009 which had got deleted because of earlier revert.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lists by species

Birds in legends, mythology, and religion

Swan Maiden - a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. Appears in various traditions.

Abrahamic mythology

Judeo-Christian
  • Noah's Dove
  • Noah's Raven
  • Ravens who fed Elijah
  • Broxa
Talmudic
  • Bar Juchne
  • Ziz - a giant bird said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan.

African mythology

  • Lightning Bird - a real or imaginary bird superstitiously associated with special powers, generally lightning.

Aztec mythology

  • Quetzalcoatl - a god of wind, creativity, and fertility, frequently depicted as a Feathered Serpent.

Chinese mythology

Egyptian mythology

  • Ba - word for the soul of the deceased. It was depicted as a bird or a human-headed bird.
  • Bennu - the Egyptian correspondence to the phoenix, and is said to be the soul of the Sun-God Ra.

Greek mythology

  • Griffin - a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.
  • Harpies - winged death-spirits.
  • Erinyes - possibly winged spirits of vengeance or justice. Also known as Furies in Roman mythology.
  • Phoenix - a fire bird that's said to resurrect from the ashes.
  • Sphinx - a unique demon of destruction and bad luck represented as a winged lion with a woman's head.
  • Stymphalian - kept as pets by Ares, they had metal feathers and noxious guano.

Hindu mythology

  • Garuda - a lesser Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu.
  • Jatayu - a demi-god who has the form of a vulture. KIA in battle
  • Sampaati - brother to Jatayu.
  • Aruna - older-brother to Garuda, father of Jatayu and Sampati, with deformed/half-formed lower limbs, charioteeer of Surya the Sun-God and absorbs much of his Heat, thus protecting the earth.
  • Gandaberunda - The Gandaberunda (also known as the Berunda) is a two headed mythological bird of Hindu mythology thought to possess magical strength. It is used as the official emblem by the Karnataka government and it is seen as an intricately sculptured motif in Hindu temples.

Japanese mythology

  • Ho-o - Japanese version of the Chinese Fenghuang.
  • Kin-u
  • Suzaku - Japanese version of the Chinese Vermillion Bird.
  • Yatagarasu - a 3-legged raven who belongs to the sun goddess Amaterasu.

Korean mythology

Birds in literature

, used to carry messages.

Birds on the radio

Birds in animation, comics, puppetry, and theme parks

Birds in film

Birds in music

Birds in sports

Birds in video games

Birds in commerce

Birds in toys

See also