Bird people encyclopedia topics

Examples

In mythology

The winged gods of Mesopotamian mythology: Anzu/Zu, Siris, Lammasu/Shedu
The gods Horus and Thoth of Ancient Egyptian religion, often depicted as humans with the heads of a falcon or an ibis, respectively.
The Garuda, eagle-god mount of Vishnu in Hindu mythology, who was pluralized into a class of bird-like beings in Buddhist mythology
The Faravahar of Zoroastrianism
The Angels of Abrahamic mythology, often depicted with bird-like wings in Christian iconography
Lei Gong, a Chinese thunder god, often depicted as a Garuda-like bird man
Greek mythology: Nike (mythology), Boreas, Eros, the Gorgon sisters

The Sirens and Harpies, who are often represented as half-human half-bird, in Greek mythology

The Tengu of Japanese folklore, monstrous forest- and mountain-dwelling humanoids often possessing the wings, claws and sometimes the beak of a bird.
The Swan maidens found in the folktales of various cultures
Tangata manu of Easter Island, often depicted as a Frigate bird/Human hybrid
On his 7th Voyage, Sinbad witnessed a race of winged humans in Indochina
The second people of the world in Southern Sierra Miwok mythology, as reported by Barrett
Alkonost, Gamayun and Sirin in Russian mythology

In fiction

Examples of the bird-people motif in science fiction and fantasy fiction include:

Otis Adelbert Kline wrote a short story for Weird Tales entitled "The Bird People".
The race of bird people led by Stratos in the Masters of the Universe cartoon series (and line of toys)
The bird people of Brontitall in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, led by the Wise Old Bird — Douglas Adams has the bird people evolving from humans who are so sick of buying shoes that they evolve into birds and never set foot on the ground again. (See Shoe Event Horizon.) This is unusual, in that the motif involves birds evolving into bird-people, rather than humans evolving into birds.
The race from which the character Hawk came in the television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century — The race of bird people in Buck Rogers had been hunted to extinction by humans, with Hawk as its sole survivor.
The bird people featured in "Tarzan & the Bird People", episode 17 of Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (a 1976 cartoon series)
The bird people ruled by Prince Vultan (Brian Blessed) in the cult film Flash Gordon.
The Ryuujin in the anime Tenkuu no Escaflowne. While the ryuujin translate to dragon people, their wings are clearly feathered and the dragon of their name is likely symbolic.
The race of garuda in fantasy author China Miéville's world Bas-Lag as featured in Perdido Street Station.
In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, a race of magical creatures called Veela appear as extraordinarily beautiful women, but turn into frightening birdlike creatures when angered.
The 1943 animated Superman short "The Underground World" has the Man of Steel and Lois Lane discovering a race of evil Falcon-men in caverns deep below the earth.
Aarakocra a race of bird-like humanoids in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
The Biata in the NERO International LARP game are a playable race of bird-like humanoids supposedly descended from gryphons.
The Japanese movie The Bird People of China features a remote village in China where people have the knowledge to fly like birds.
The Aven are a bird race from Otaria in the Magic: The Gathering novels and collectible card game.
The cartoon show Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series depicts the main characters as anthropomorphised ducks who play hockey and fight evil.
Maximum Ride(novel series) features six bird-human hybrids
In Gunnerkrigg Court, one chapter focuses on the character Kat befriending a boy who is gradually turning into a bird.

In comics

Many characters in comics and cartoons are simply anthropomorphised birds, including:

In video games

Examples of the bird-people motif in video games include:

Chozo from the Metroid franchise of games.
The Rito from the Zelda game The Wind Waker.
The Feather Folk from the Star Ocean series.
The Bird Man from Jade Cocoon.
The Tengu from Guild Wars.
Windians from Breath of Fire.
Falco Lombardi, from the Star Fox series.
The Bird Laguz from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
The Aracoix are a race of bird-people in the fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game Shadowbane.
The similarly named Arakkoa are the race of bird-like humanoids in the World of Warcraft fantasy role-playing game.
The Yagudo from the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI
The Aviantese of the MMORPG RuneScape.
The Hawk Men from the Ogre Battle series.

References

S. A. Barrett (1919-03-27). "Myths of the Southern Sierra Miwok". University of California Publications in American Archeology and Ethnology 16(1) 1 – 28.
Bestia Mortale (1999). "Death Is In the Air: Egyptian Sirens Came to Ancient Greece to Ease Souls' Path to Persephone". Widdershins 5(5)

External links

Cathy S. Mosley "The Princess of the Bird People" a retelling of "Manora, the Bird Woman," from Thailand. H-NILAS: Stories for the Seasons. . — This cites .
Zerah'el Dancing Grouse The Story of the Bird People. Free Cherokee. . — a story from a story teller of the Bird Clan of East Central Alabama that parallels the evolution of birds from dinosaurs

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Last updated on Friday February 29, 2008 at 07:33:09 PST (GMT -0800)
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