Is Thunderbird a Bird?

Thunderbird, in North American Indian mythology, a powerful spirit in the form of a bird. By its work, the earth was watered and vegetation grew. Lightning was believed to flash from its beak, and the beating of its wings was thought to represent the rolling of thunder.

What kind of bird is a Thunderbird?

Thunderbirds in this tradition may be depicted as a spread-eagled bird (wings horizontal head in profile), but also quite commonly with the head facing forward, thus presenting an X-shaped appearance overall (see under §Iconography below).

Was a Thunderbird a real bird?

Today, zoologists categorize Thunderbirds in the realm of mythical creatures, but there is plenty of fossil evidence to prove that massive birds did, at one time, fill the skies of Earth. In fact, teratorns, a family of extinct vulture-like birds of prey, were common in both North and South America.