Thunderbird (Urban Legend)


 * (This page refers to the cryptid known as the Thunderbird. For the creature of Native American folklore, see Thunderbird (Folklore))

Thunderbird is a term used in cryptozoology to refer to gigantic birds and birdlike creatures. It is largely rooted in Native American beliefs in birdlike creatures by the same name, however is its own distinct entity.

Description:
The Thunderbird is described as a winged crocodile monster with a wingspan of an estimated 160 feet and a body at least 92 feet long. It had a smooth, hairless body; a strong jaw and sharp teeth; and its wings were made up of a "thick and nearly transparent membrane."

Based on sightings, the creature bears a great resemblance to an airplane, as several witnesses state that they at first believed it to be one before getting a better look at it.

Original Sighting:
The original sighting of the Thunderbird was by two ranchers, who supposedly killed the creature. It is from them that the description used above originates. On April 26, 1890, the Tombstone Epitaph posted a story about this sighting. The story apparently included a picture depicting the ranchers standing in front of the Thunderbird's corpse nailed to a barn wall, however a copy of this photo has never been found.

1948 Sightings:
On April 10, 1948, there were three sightings of massive birds over the town of Overland, Illinois. The witnesses claimed to see what they thought was a plane until they noticed it flapping its wings. A few weeks later there was another sighting in Alton, Illinois, where a man and his son spotted a birdlike creature with a body "shaped like a torpedo."

Around the same time in St. Louis, Missouri, numerous sightings of huge birds prompted residents to complain to the mayor, who had an administrative assistant set up traps to catch one of the large birds. Blue heron tracks were found on an island in the Meramec River, and that was considered to be the source of the sightings.

Later Sightings:
In 2002, there was a sighting of a large bird with a wingspan of around 4 meters in Alaska.

In 2007, there were sightings of huge birds in San Antonio, Texas.

In 2018, there were several sightings of a large black bird the size of a small plane in the Mendenhall Valley area of Alaska.

These later sightings lack consistency with the earlier ones and hold much less weight, but are still worth noting.

Explanations:
Many have suggested that the Thunderbird is simply a normal bird of abnormally large or mistaken size being perceived as a completely new creature due to its size. Angelo P. Capparella states that a species as large as the Thunderbird would be incapable of garnering the needed food to survive and would have been spotted much more often than Thunderbirds have been.

In Popular Culture:
While not as popular as many other monsters, the Thunderbird has seen respectable use in various fantasy media, alongside similar creatures such as the Roc and Ziz.