Bird people

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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".

Contents 1 Examples 1.1 In mythology 1.2 In fiction 1.3 In comics 1.4 In video games 2 References 3 Further reading 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Examples

[edit] 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
• Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god of the Aztecs.

[edit] 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.
• Bird Human, a Protoculture bio-mechanical mecha from the Japanese animated series Macross Zero

[edit] In comics

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

• Howard the Duck
• Roadrunner
• Daffy Duck
• Darkwing Duck
• Donald Duck
• Many characters of DuckTales
• Woody Woodpecker
• Red Raven
• Foghorn Leghorn

[edit] 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.
• The Aegyl from Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings.

[edit] References

1. ^  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. 
2. ^  Bestia Mortale (1999). "Death Is In the Air: Egyptian Sirens Came to Ancient Greece to Ease Souls' Path to Persephone". Widdershins 5(5). 

[edit] 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

[edit] See also

• Reptilian humanoid
• Talking animal
• Funny animal
• Avians

[edit] 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