In mythology and fiction (usually fantasy and science fiction) bird people are a race of people who resemble, or who are evolved from, birds. This is a common motif in movies, TV, and video games. Sometimes, the bird people are a "lost race". The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from mythologein to relate myths, from mythos, meaning a narrative, and logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other uses, see Race (disambiguation). ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation). ... In literature, a motif is a recurring element or theme that has symbolic significance in the story. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ... “TV” redirects here. ... “Computer and video games” redirects here. ...

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^[1], 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^[2]
• Alkonost, Gamayun and Sirin in Russian mythology

Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. ... Zu as a lion-headed eagle, ca. ... For other uses, see Siris (disambiguation). ... For the town in Pakistan, see Shedu (town). ... For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation). ... Thoth (Ramesseum, Luxor) Thoth (his Greek name derived from the Egyptian *, written by Egyptians as ) was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon, often depicted with the head of an ibis. ... Egyptian goddess Isis Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the beliefs and rituals of Ancient Egypt. ... Falcons eat humans. ... Genera Threskiornis Pseudibis Thaumatibis Geronticus Nipponia Bostrychia Theristicus Cercibis Mesembrinibis Phimosus Eudocimus Plegadis Lophotibis Ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari ), (honorific: Sri Vishnu) also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for Vaishnavas and a manifestation of Brahman in the Advaita or Smarta traditions. ... Hindu mythology is a term used by modern scholarship for a large body of Indian literature that details the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... Buddhist mythology is a mythology within the Buddhism belief system. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ... The Archangel Michael by Guido Reni wears a late Roman military outfit in this 17th century depiction An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. ... Abrahamic mythology is a term used in comparative mythology to refer to those aspects of religious belief and tradition common to the Abrahamic religions, as distinct from those of the Pagan religions from which most mainstream research in this field suggests they developed. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Look up Iconography in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Chinese mythology, Lei Gong is the god of Thunder. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... There was one person and one god known as Boreas in Greek mythology. ... Eros. ... See also Gorgona, for the Colombian/Italian islands. ... The Siren, by John William Waterhouse(circa 1900 In Greek mythology the Sirens or Seirenes (Greek Σειρήνες or Acheloides) were sea deities who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli. ... Harpy (from Latin: Harpyia, Greek: Άρπυια, Harpuia, pl. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... Tengu and a Buddhist monk, by Kawanabe Kyōsai. ... Japanese folklore is the folklore of Japan. ... The Swan May or Swan Maiden is a legend in which a young, unmarried man steals a magic robe made of swan feathers from a swan maiden so that she will not fly away and winds up marrying her. ... Folklore is the ethnographic concept of the tales, legends, or superstitions current among a particular ethnic population, a part of the oral history of a particular culture. ... The Tangata manu (the bird-man), is the winner of a traditional competition of the Easter Island people. ... “Rapa Nui” redirects here. ... Species There are five species in the order Fregatatidae, the frigatebirds. ... The name Sinbad when used alone refers to more than one personage, place, or thing. ... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ... The Valley and Sierra Miwok (also called the Plains and Sierra Miwok), were the largest group of Miwok Native American people. ... Ivan Bilibins Alkonost In Russian legends Alkonost is the bird of paradise, a miraculous bird with a womans face. ... Gamayun is a prophetic bird of Russian folklore which lives on an island in the east. ... Sirin bird on a grape tree. ...

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. More usually, 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.
• The fantasy novel Eragon features horrible, twisted bird-like humanoids called Ra'zac.
• 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 collectable card game.
• The cartoon show The Mighty Ducks Animated Series depicts the main characters as anthopomorphised ducks who play hockey and fight evil.

Planet of Peril by Otis Adelbert Kline, Ace Books, 1963 Otis Adelbert Kline (1891-1946) was an adventure novelist and literary agent during the pulp era. ... This page is about the fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine and its heirs. ... Stratos is a character from the popular toy line and cartoon series Masters of the Universe. ... Clash of the titans: He-Man and Skeletor face off on the cover of a vintage MOTU graphic novel. ... This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... There are many minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... The Shoe Event Horizon is a joke theory invented by Douglas Adams for The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio series. ... Hawk (left) with Buck Rogers Hawk the birdman is a character from the second season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and the alien sidekick to Buck Rogers. ... Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is the title of an American motion picture produced by Universal Studios and released in 1979, and is also the title of a television series based upon the film that was aired by NBC for two seasons between 1979 and 1981. ... The Dodo, shown here in a 1651 illustration by Jan Savery, is an often-cited[1] example of modern extinction. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Prince Vultan is the Prince of the bird-like Hawk-people in the Flash Gordon comic strip and its adaptions. ... Brian Blessed (pronounced //, or in the tradition of English poetry, Blessèd, born near Doncaster,October 9, 1937) is an English actor, who came to fame as PC Fancy Smith in the BBC TV police drama series Z Cars. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Flash Gordon is a 1980 science fiction film, based on the eponymous comic strip character Flash Gordon. ... The Vision of Escaflowne ( Japanese: 天空のエスカフローネ;Tenkū no Esukafurōne or Escaflowne of the Heavens) is a 26-episode anime television series by Sunrise, directed by Kazuki Akane. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... China Tom Miéville (born September 6, 1972, Norwich) is a British fantastic fiction writer. ... Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of China Miévilles novels are set. ... Perdido Street Station (US edition cover) Perdido Street Station is the second novel written by China Miéville, and the first set in New Crobuzon. ... Joanne Rowling OBE (born July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire), commonly known as J.K. Rowling (pronunciation: roll-ing; her former students used to joke with her name calling her the Rolling Stone), is a British fiction writer. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series of novels. ... The following are minor magical beasts from the Harry Potter fantasy series by J. K. Rowling. ... Fairies in Slavic mythology come in several forms and their names are spelled differently based on the specific language. ... This article is about the novel. ... Razac are superhuman beings in Christopher Paolinis Inheritance trilogy. ... In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the aarakocra are a race of bird-like monstrous humanoids. ... The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... NERO International is a Live action role-playing game (or LARP) played in the United States and Canada. ... A live action role-playing game, or LARP as it is commonly known, is a form of role-playing game where the participants perform some or all of the physical actions of the characters they play the role of. ... The Bird People in China (中国の鳥人 Chûgoku no chôjin) is a Japanese movie directed by Takashi Miike. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Magic: The Gathering (colloq. ... Mighty Ducks is a half-hour Disney animated series aired on ABC and The Disney Afternoon in the fall of 1996. ...

In comics

Many characters in comics and cartoons are simply anthropomorphized birds, including: See comedian Stand up comedian List of Comedians List of British comedians comics comic book comic strip underground comics alternative comics web comic sprite comics manga graphic novel List of comic characters This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... For the band, see Cartoons (band). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

• Chozo
• Howard the Duck
• Roadrunner
• Daffy Duck
• Darkwing Duck
• Donald Duck
• DuckTales
• Woody Woodpecker
• Red Raven
• Foghorn Leghorn

The Chozo are a fictional species of bird-like extra-terrestrials existing within the Metroid video game universe. ... This article is about the character and comic book series. ... “Road Runner” redirects here. ... Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. ... Darkwing Duck is an Emmy-nominated American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991-1995 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured an eponymous superhero anthropomorphic duck with the alter ego of Drake Mallard (voiced... Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Woody Woodpecker, from the opening title sequence for the 1951 short Puny Express. ... Category: ... Foghorn Leghorn is the name of a character appearing in numerous Warner Brothers animated cartoons, especially Looney Tunes. ...

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 Chozo are a fictional species of bird-like extra-terrestrials existing within the Metroid video game universe. ... This article is about the first game in the series. ... The Legend of Zelda series of videogames has a diverse range of races/species living in the games worlds. ... A Legend of Zelda series logo The Legend of Zelda series (often shortened to Zelda, TLoZ, or LoZ), by Nintendo, is a series of video games created by celebrated game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. ... The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (or Zeruda no Densetsu: Kaze no Takuto in Japan) is the ninth game in the well-known The Legend of Zelda series of video games. ... Star Ocean is a franchise of role-playing video games developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (originally Enix). ... Jade cocoon follows the story of a young boy called Levant who is to become the new cocoon master of syrus after his dad, Riketz Mysteriously dissapeared into the forest and he must also stop the locust of the apocolyps. ... This article is for the Guild Wars series. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed compared to the rest of the article. ... The Star Fox series ) is a video game franchise published by Nintendo. ... In mythology, the Aracoix are a race part human and part bird, with a humans body, and a birds head and wings. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... World of Warcraft. ... Shadowbane is a free player-driven fantasy computer role-playing game (MMORPG) created by Wolfpack Studios and published on March 25, 2003 by Ubisoft for Windows and Mac platforms. ... The Arakkoa are a hostile race in the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), World of Warcraft. ... World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the fourth game in the Warcraft series, excluding expansion packs and the cancelled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... Final Fantasy XI ), also known as Final Fantasy XI: Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) as a part of the Final Fantasy video game series. ... RuneScape is a Java-based MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. ...

References

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

Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• About Hawk. Thom Christopher/Hawk fansite. Retrieved on October 31, 2005.
• Hawk. TV Acres. Retrieved on October 31, 2005.
• The Green Lanterns of Multiple Worlds. Classic Comic Books. Retrieved on October 31, 2005. — a discussion of Tomar-Re, a Green Lantern of a bird people, and the artwork for that character by Gil Kane
• Battle of the Bird-Man Bandits. Classic Comic Books. Retrieved on October 31, 2005. — a discussion of a complex bird-people society created for a Hawkman tale

Thom Christopher (born October 5, 1940) is an American actor. ... For the DJ, see DJ Green Lantern. ... For other meanings of the term, see Hawkman (disambiguation) Hawkman is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. ...

See also

• Reptilian humanoid
• Talking animal
• Funny animal
• Avians

It has been suggested that The Reptilian Agenda be merged into this article or section. ... WPA poster by Kenneth Whitley, 1939 The talking animal or speaking animal term, in general, refers to any form of animal which can talk or conduct speech. ... Bugs Bunny, a typical funny animal character Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals. ... Avians are a winged fantasy race in several strategy and role-playing games. ...

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. Retrieved on October 31, 2005. — This cites Toth, Marian Davis (1971). Tales From Thailand. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle. .
• Zerah'el Dancing Grouse. The Story of the Bird People. Free Cherokee. Retrieved on October 31, 2005. — a story from a story teller of the Bird Clan of East Central Alabama that parallels the evolution of birds from dinosaurs