Thunderbird

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Thunderbird Skull.


"The bird is distinguished by its size and lifting capabilities exceeding those of any known bird living today anywhere in the world. Wingspan estimates are necessarily all guesswork. But observers sometimes have had the benefit of a measurable object for comparison or the benefit of time to observe a resting bird. The results most often provide sizes of 15 to 20 feet. The bird at rest or on the ground appears to be four to eight feet tall. Typically the coloring of the birds overall is dark.."

Remarkably, a bird of 15 feet in size would be the largest bird known in the world today. The largest wingspan known on a living bird is that of the wandering albatross (diomedea exulans) with a wingspan to 12 feet, and while not a predatory bird, it still boasts an impressive span. The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) and the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) are among the largest predatory birds in the world, with the Andean condor reaching a wingspan of 10.5 feet and the California condor (the largest North American predatory bird) reaches a wingspan of up to 10 feet.

The other possible photographic evidence is the "Thunderbird Photograph" taken at the end of the nineteenth century in Texas. The image is said to depict six adult men, standing fingertip to fingertip in front of a barn where a large bird is nailed to the wall. Many have claimed to have seen or held this infamous image, including the late Ivan T. Sanderson who reportedly had acquired a photocopy of the image in 1966, the same year in which Sanderson gave the image, later lost, to a couple of men from Pennsylvania who were searching for the Thunderbird. The image has yet to surface. The image was reported to have been published in 1886 in the Tombstone Arizona Epitaph, however this was somewhat dubiously reported in a 1963 article by Jack Pearl called "The Monster Bird That Carries Off Human Beings!" in Saga magazine. Searches of the Tombstone Epitaph have come up empty, aside from an article from April 26, 1890 of a 16 foot bird found in the desert by a couple of ranchers.

What then is the Thunderbird? It is a mystery. It has been reported by Native Americans and people today from all walks of life as an enormous bird, larger than any known species, but similar in appearance to a condor. Theories as to what the Thunderbird may be have run the gamut from surviving pterodactyls to the teratorns. The teratorns were large predatory birds from the Pleistocene that exhibited wingspans of upwards of 25 feet. Although thought to be extinct, their general presumed appearance is that of a giant condor-like species, similar in appearence to the Thunderbird. North America has many mysteries, among them the Thunderbird. These creatures are surely one of the most enigmatic cryptids in the world. There has been a noticeable lack of support in searching for these birds; it is no wonder that these creatures have evaded discovery like so many others from around the world.

Pteratorns

San Antonio based cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard theorizes it could be a creature slightly less extinct—a pteratorn. “These are the surviving ancestors of modern condors and vultures. They lived up until 6,000 years ago, we know for sure, in parts of North America.” Gerhard said. “In fact, over 100 specimens have been recovered from the La Brea tar pits in California.”


  • Zambia, Central Africa Kongamato

("Overwhelmer of boats") Rhamphorhynchoid Wingspan: 4-7 ft. Found in swamps, waterways Details vary, possibly multiple kinds

  • Ghana (Ashanti territory) Sasabonsam

(Asasabonsam, Asanbonsam) Pterodactyloid Wingspan: up to 20 ft. Fruit eating, Kidnaps travelers

  • Cameroon,

Southeastern Nigeria Olitiau ("The Forked One") Rhamphorhynchoid Size of an eagle Found in mountainous regions

  • Papua New Guinea

(Rambunzo island, Bismarck Archipelago) Ropen ("Demon flyer") Rhamphorhynchoid Wingspan: 3-4 ft. Nocturnal, lives in caves Partially bioluminescent underparts Taste for decaying human flesh

  • Papua New Guinea

(main island) Duah ("Demon flyer") Pterodactyloid Wingspan: 25+ ft. Partially bioluminescent underparts Long beak and head crest

  • Indonesia

(Moluccan Islands) Orang-Bati ("Winged men") Rhamphorhynchoid Height: 4-5 ft. Lives in caves of Mount Kairatu Said to abduct infants

  • North America Thunderbird Pterodactyloid

Largest flying animal

  • Mesoamerica Quetzalcoatl Pterodactyloid

Worshiped as a god


Fossil Record

There is one genus of extinct flightless-birds from the Americas that has been named Brontornis, whose name literally means "thunder-bird", however few, if any, cryptozoologists regard this bird as the origins of the thunderbird because of its flightlessness.

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