Mythological birds of prey

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: gryps or grypus; Late and Medieval Latin: gryphes, grypho etc.; Old French: griffon) is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle with its talons on the front legs.

Garuda (; ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (vahana) of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the Devas, Gandharvas, Daityas, Danavas, Nāgas, Vanara and Yakshas. He is the son of the sage Kashyapa and Vinata. He is the younger brother of Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun. Garuda is mentioned in several other texts such as the Puranas and the Vedas.

symbol in heraldry and vexillology

thumb|Roger délivrant Angélique (1824) by Louis-Édouard Rioult depicts the scene of [[Orlando Furioso where Ruggiero () rescues Angelica () while riding on a hippogriff.]] The hippogriff (Italian: ) or hippogryph is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse.

mythological bird

legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture

Jatayu (, ) is a demigod in the Hindu epic Ramayana, who has the form of a vulture. He was the younger son of Aruṇa and his wife Shyeni the brother of Sampati, as well as the nephew of Garuda. He was also an old friend of King Dasharatha, Rama's father.

thumb|Turul bird on the Buda Castle|Royal Castle, [[Budapest, Hungary]] The Turul is a mythological bird of prey, mostly depicted as a falcon, in Hungarian tradition and Turkic tradition, and a national symbol of Hungarians.

Anzû, also known as dZû and Imdugud (Sumerian: Determinative#Cuneiform|), is a demon in several Mesopotamian religions. He was conceived by the cosmic freshwater ocean Abzu and mother Earth Mami, or as son of Siris. In Babylonian myths Anzû was depicted as a massive bird - also as an eagle with lion head - who can breathe fire and water. This narrative seems to refer to much earlier Sumerian myths, in which he appears as a half-human storm bird who stole the tablet of destiny, challenging Enlil's power over his organisation of different gods that provided Mesopotamia with agriculture (cf. the

goddess from Greek mythology: princess, daughter of Phlegyas, lover of Ischys and Apollo, mother of Asclepius; killed by Apollon and Artemis

thumb|Iðunn is carried off by Þjazi in this artwork by [[Harry George Theaker, 1920.]] thumb|He flapped away with her, magic apples and all (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith.

Hræsvelgr (Old Norse)is a jötunn in Norse mythology. He is portrayed as the eagle-shaped originator of the wind.

mythical creature

thumb|right|Blodeuwedd by Christopher Williams (Welsh artist)|Christopher Williams (1930) Blodeuwedd (; Welsh "Flower-Faced", a composite name from blodau "flowers" + gwedd "face"), is married to Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology. She was made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak by the magicians Math and Gwydion, and is a central figure in Math fab Mathonwy, the last of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi.

ill-omened bird of antiquity

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.

Gerana, sometimes also called Oenoe, is a queen of the Pygmy folk in Greek mythology, who incurred the wrath of the goddess Hera and was subsequently turned into a bird bearing her name, the crane. This aetiological tale explains the ancient rivalry between the Pygmies and the cranes, and also serves as a cautionary tale against the people who hubristically claimed to be better than even the gods themselves.

fabled bird

Battle standard of Napoleon's Grande Armee

mythical creature

goddess of Muisca religion

mythological figure

The (also spelled ) is a monstrous bird in Māori mythology.

Inca god of water, winds and torrential rains

In Egyptian mythology, Khenti-kheti (also spelt Chenti-cheti), was a crocodile-god, though he was later represented as a falcon-god. His name means "foremost retreater".

creature from Welsh mythology

Muut was the personification and messenger of death in the culture of the Native American Cahuilla people of southern California and northern Mexico, and was usually depicted as an owl or as the unseen hooting of owls. He was one of the most active and vividly remembered of the nukatem, a special classification of beings who were created by Mukat, the Creator figure, in the 'beginning.' Death was considered a necessary part of life by the Cahuilla, and thus Muut was seen as more of a psychopomp than a frightening grim reaper character. This role was assigned by Mukat, who argued that overpopul