Mythological and legendary Japanese birds

Tengu ( ; , , ) are a type of legendary creature found in Shinto belief. They are considered a type of yōkai (supernatural beings) or Shinto kami (gods or spirits). The Tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a monkey deity, and they were traditionally depicted with human, monkey, and avian characteristics. Sarutahiko Ōkami is considered to be the original model of Konoha-Tengu (a supernatural creature with a red face and long nose), which today is widely considered the Tengus defining characteristic in the popular imagination. He is the Shinto monkey deity who is

thumb|293x293px|Statue of Yatagarasu at Kumano Hongū Taisha|Kumano Hongu Taisha. is a mythical crow and guiding god in Shinto mythology. He is generally known for his three-legged figure, and his picture has been handed down since ancient times. The word means "eight-span crow" and the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.

alt=|thumb|Ubume うぶめ from Bakemono no e (化物之繪, c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, [[Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.]] are Japanese yōkai of pregnant women. They can also be written as ''''. Throughout folk stories and literature the identity and appearance of ubume varies. However, she is most commonly depicted as the spirit of a woman who has died during childbirth. Passersby will see her as a normal-looking woman carrying a baby. She will typically try to give the passerby her child then disappear. When

thumb|A statue depicting a wingless Karura from Kōfuku-ji, Nara, 8th century. thumb|An illustration from an 1866 Japanese book. Karura, who is an incarnation of Guanyin|Bodhisattva Kannon in this scene, gives a sermon to folks.

Japanese folklore

thumb|240px|right|Aosaginohi from Toriyama Sekien's [[Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki (1779) ]] right|thumb|240px|Goi no hikari from Tōsanjin's Ehon Hyaku Monogatari|Ehon hyaku monogatari ([[1841) illustrated by ]]

fictional bird

right|thumb|264px|Furaribi (ふらり火) from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi right|thumb|200px|Furaribi (ふらり火) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Sekien Toriyama]] thumb|Furaribi () from Bakemono no e (, ), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, [[Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.|alt=]] The furaribi () is a fire yōkai that appears in Japanese classical yōkai pictures such as in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Sekien Toriyama, the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi, and the Bakemonozukushi by an unknown author.

right|thumb|200px|"Itsumade" (以津真天) from the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki (1779) by [[Toriyama Sekien]] is an eerie reptilian bird featured in the Japanese collection of Yōkai pictures, the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Toriyama Sekien published in 1779. Its picture has the explanatory text, "as explained more fully in the Taiheiki, Hiroari shot the eerie bird that cries, 'itsumade itsumade'" (広有 いつまでいつまでと鳴し怪鳥を射し事 太平記に委し), so it depicts the odd bird that appears in the Taiheiki (circa 14c), volume 12, "Hiroari Shot the Eerie Bird" (広有射怪鳥事, "Hiroari Keteu wo Iru Koto").

Yosuzume (, "Night-Sparrow") are bird yōkai, the knowledge of which are handed down within the Hada District, Aichi Prefecture towns of Tanokuchi (presently Kuroshio), Tomiyama (presently Nakamura), in Kitagawa, Aki District, in Minamiuwa District, Ehime Prefecture, and in other places.