Stymphalian Bird
Variations: Stymphalide, Bird of Ares Pausanias theorized that the Stymphalian birds originated in Arabia, citing the presence of fierce desert birds known as the Stymphalides. He then admits that the...
View ArticleBifang
Variations: Bifang-bird The Bifang can be found on barren Mount Zhang’e in China. It looks like a crane but has only one leg; it has a white beak and red markings on a green background. Its call sounds...
View ArticleAderyn y Corph
Variations: Aderyn y Corff, Aderyn y Cyrff, Corpse-bird The Aderyn y Corph or corpse-bird chirps at the door of a dying person in Wales. Its call is dewch, dewch (“come, come”). It has no feathers or...
View ArticleXiao
Variations: Raucous-Bird The Xiao or Raucous-Bird dwells on China’s Bridge-Channel Mountain. It is a bird with four wings, one eye, and a dog’s tail. It makes sounds like a magpie. Eating it cures...
View ArticleOpimachus
Variations: Chargol, Ophiomachis, Ophiomachus, Opimacus, Opymachus, Ibis, Snake-eater; Attachus (probably); Opinicus, Epimacus (probably) There is only one Biblical mention of the insect called...
View ArticleKongamato
The Kongamato, “overwhelmer of boats”, is a river-shutter of Kasempa District in northern Zambia. It is known from Kaonde folklore, and the Jiundu Swamp is one of its favorite haunts. The fact that the...
View ArticleChouyu
Variations: Jiuyu, Jiyu The slopes of Exceedingly Lofty Mountain in China are home to the Chouyu. It is like a rabbit but has a bird’s beak, owl’s eyes, and the tail of a snake. It falls asleep (i.e....
View ArticleNue
Variations: Nue-dori (Nue-bird) Described as a “bird-beast”, the Nue lacks any avian physical features. It exists largely outside the Japanese yokai canon, best known from the Tale of the Heike (1371)....
View ArticleGallo de la Muerte
Every hundred years, a kite in the Spanish mountains lays a red egg in a gorse bush. From that egg hatches a black and white bird, larger than a chicken, which lives exactly fifty years. When that bird...
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Dingbat
Variations: Bunkeri edithil (Wyman) The Dingbat of the Great Lakes region is a terrifying hybrid of bird and mammal. It has a short, feathered body, short antlers, and large wings. Dingbats specialize...
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Ieltxu
Variations: Iditxu, Iritxu Ieltxu is a Basque creature found in the caverns and wells of Gernika. Notable haunts include a pit in Nabarrizmendi and the Busturia well. Ieltxu appears either as a human...
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Lagopus
Variations: Lagepus, Lagephus According to Pliny, the Lagopus (“hare foot”) or ptarmigan is so named because its feet are covered with hair like those of a hare’s foot. It is the size of a pigeon and...
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Bès Chèm
Variations: Hantu Burong (Malay), Bird Spirit Bès Chèm, “Bird Spirit”, is applied to a number of Malaysian spirits. One of them is a jungle bird-spirit that lives on big branches touching each other....
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Kusa Kap
The tale of Kusa Kap is told on the islands of Dauan and Mabuiag in the Torres Strait. The primary difference is the setting of the events and the name of the fisherman – Maiwasa in Mabuiag, Kaudab in...
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Shuyu
Variations: Shu-fish The Shuyu or Shu-fish can be found in abundance in China’s Peng River. It looks like a chicken with red feathers, and has four heads (or four eyes), six feet, and three tails. It...
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Makalala
The single reference to the Makalala comes from an account written by Fischer, who attributes it to the Wasegua or Wasequa of Tanzania. These people live some 8-9 days’ journey inland from Zanzibar,...
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Minokawa
Variations: Arimaonga (Maranao); Bannog, Banog, Ban-og (Iloko, Tinguian); Baua, Bawa (Pampangan, Tagalog) The Minokawa is a Bagobo eclipse creature, comparable to other voracious dragons such as the...
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Lidérc
Variations: Ludvérc, Mit-mitke, Ignis Fatuus The Lidérc or Ludvérc is a polymorphic and polyvalent entity from Hungary. In its various guises, it appears as a will-o’-the-wisp, an astral phenomenon, a...
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Skvader
The Skvader is a taxidermist’s chimera found in Sundsvall, in the Swedish province of Medelpad. It is a winged hare, combining the skins of a European hare and a capercaillie. The original skvader was...
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Billdad
Variations: Saltipiscator falcorostratus (Cox) Boundary Pond in Maine, near the Canadian border, is the only spot where Billdads live. These creatures are beaver-sized with long kangaroo-like back...
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