Thunderbird (cryptozoology)

Thunderbird is a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures, generally identified with the Thunderbird of Native American myth and folklore. Similar cryptids reported in the Old World are often called Rocs. Although Rocs are generally regarded as being eagles like the gigantic Haast eagle of New Zealand, which would have been dismissed as myth if not for fossil evidence, thunderbirds, on the other hand, are regarded by a small number of researchers as having lizard features like the pterosaurs and pteranodon. As most people assume these creatures did not survive from the time of dinosaurs, they are generally regarded by most people as mythological.

This article deals with modern sightings (the last 200 years) of such a creature, reported as real, as opposed to clearly mythological accounts, though believers in the phenomenon often use the Indian legends as further evidence for their claims.