The Birds

Welcome back everyone! In this edition of KoomValley Does Mythology, we're looking into Birds of Legend! Mankind has long idolized the Bird for their abilities to soar through the skies and explore places we have no simple way of getting to. This, of course, ignores the flightless birds, but we'll get there.
For the purposes of this post, and in hopes of keeping it from growing WAY out of proportion, I will be looking at just birds, and a couple deities closely related to birds. I won't be counting bird-like creatures or "winged" creatures, with some very small exceptions to fit in with previous editions. No harpies, no angels, things like that.
Source: https://medium.com/futurists-club-by-science-of-the-time/a-phoenix-like-situation-6931ae3f82c4

We start off with probably the most famous of legendary birds, the Phoenix! A creature of ash and flame, it's renowned for its ability to come back to life. "Like a Phoenix, rising from the ashes" is the phrase used. The Phoenix we know of mostly comes from Ancient Greece, but many other cultures have analogues: The Hindu Garuda, the Slavic Firebird, the Persian Simorgh, the Chinese Fenghuang, and the Japanese hō-ō.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)

Slavic Legend tells of an object of a difficult quest, usually to find a lost tail feather. A precursor to the "Golden Goose", this bird is highly sought-after, but one wonders if it's worth the time and misfortune required to obtain it.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firebird_(Slavic_folklore)

Stravinsky wrote the score to a large-scale ballet called The Firebird. Below is a link to the Vienna Philarmonic's rendition of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkIAVGlfWk

Garuda is a complicated subject on the topic of birds. Depictions of him vary greatly; sometimes he is depicted as a large kite-like figure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahminy_kite) or as a man with wings and bird features (as depicted in this picture).
Garuda is the mount (vahana) of Vishnu, a dharma-protector and astasena in Buddhism, and the Yaksha of the Jain Tirthankara Shantinatha.
Source: http://www.harekrsna.de/garuda-e.htm

Ziz was a giant monster of Jewish mythology, said to be large enough to block out the sun with its wings. Similar to a griffin in appearance, Ziz is appointed to rule over the birds, in the same way that Leviathan is the king of the fishes.
This image may be familiar; it was also used in Part II: The Leviathan (Link at the end).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz

The Roc is a gargantuan bird of prey from Arabic mythology, and fabled to be large enough to carry away an elephant. For reference, at near-top speed, a bald eagle can likely lift approximately 6-8 lbs (https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=343#:~:text=Eagles%20weigh%208%20to%2012,about%20three%20or%20four%20pounds.). Given that an average bald eagle weighs a little over 10 lbs (wikipedia), this means that a bald eagle can carry about 70% of its body weight for short distances. An indian elephant weights approximately 7700 lbs, so an eagle large enough to carry away an elephant would have to weigh 11 000 lbs, or 1073 times the size of a standard bald eagle. This behemoth would have a wingspan of just under a mile and a half. Let that sink in for a moment.
The idea of the Roc has its origins in the titanic fight between Garuda and the cthonic serpent Nāga.
Source: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ba31Nk

From colossal to downright tiny, the Bluebird of Happiness is a bringer of joy and happiness found in a great many cultures, from Chinese and Slavic folklore to Aboriginal folklore, specifically the Cochiti people of New Mexico. Ralph Emerson and Oscar Wilde, in May-Day (1867) and The Decay of Lying (1891) respectively also mention bluebirds in their poems.
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/plopppfish/art/The-Bluebird-of-Happiness-861151725

Cygnus is a northern constellation, named for seven swans in Greek myths. Zeus disguised himself as a swan to seduce Leda, wife of Tyndareus, who gave birth to Gemini, Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Orpheus was transformed into a swan after his murder, and King Cygnus was transformed into a swan as well.
Together with Vultur cadens and Aquila (Falling Vulture and the Eagle), Cygnus is likely a significant part of the Stymphalian Birds, which was one of the Twelve Labours of Hercules (Of which contains a cat and a hydra).
The constellation also happens to contain one of the brightest stars in the sky, Deneb.
Source: https://starwalk.medium.com/a-gorgeous-quarter-moon-meets-saturn-and-the-swans-wings-bear-its-best-features-2721e626a323

The Thunderbird is a creature legendary to a number of Aboriginal peoples, particularly to those peoples from the American Southwest, east coast, Great Lakes, and the Great Plains. The Algonquin people hold that the Thunderbird controls the upper world, while the underworld is controlled by the underwater panther or the Great Horned Serpent. Thunderbird throws lightning at underworld creatures, and creates thunder by flapping its wings.
The Menominee tell of a great mountain that floats in the western sky, upon which dwell the Thunderbirds. They control the rain and hail.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(mythology)

The Rooster is one of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac, represented by the Earthly Branch symbol. In the Tibetan and Gurung zodiacs, the bird is in place of the Rooster.
The Rooster comes after Monkey and before Dog in the zodiac cycle, and the next Year of the Rooster will be 2029, where it will be an Earth Rooster. Those born in 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, and 2017 are Roosters.

Source: https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/rooster.htm

Many deities from religions all throughout history have had "Animal-like qualities". Several gods of Ancient Egypt had similar qualities; the difference being that the gods themselves did not have these qualities. Ra, for example, did not actually have the head of a falcon. He did, however, possess many QUALITIES of a falcon, and so was depicted with the falcon's head. Horus shares this particular animal with Ra, and the god Thoth had the head of an ibis.
The Aztecs had a more literal interpretation. Zacatzontli, while perhaps not directly depicted as an eagle no more than Tezcatlipoca with the jaguar, was closesly related to them, and had an eagle as the sun's symbol guide. Huītzilōpōchtli, the god of war, the sun, and human sacrifice, was described as the South or Left hummingbird, and was frequently depicted as a hummingbird, or as an eagle.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Horus

The Eagle has been used countless times throughout history, usually depicting power or importance, but most often as a symbol for an Empire. Depicted here is the flag of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1400 to about 1806. Nazi Germany also used the imperial eagle in its heraldry, as does the Imperium of Man from Warhammer, Russia, the US (in the form of the bald eagle), and Poland.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Holy_Roman_Empire

Several North American sports teams use birds in their names and symbols, including the St Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Philidelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Anaheim Ducks, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Source: https://chok.com/on-air/blue-jays-baseball

Pokémon got in on the legendary birds act in Gen I, with the trio of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Gen II introduced Lugia and Ho-oh, who is not pictured here.
Articuno (Arctic and uno, a cold place and one in Spanish) is based on the Simurgh from Persian legend and possibly the quetzal. Zapdos (Zap and dos) is based on the Thunderbird of aboriginal legend. Moltres (Molten and tres) is based on the Phoenix.

Source: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/447686019182410971/

Magic: the Gathering got its hands on the mythical birds as well, though it is mostly bird-like humanoids (people with bird heads/feet/wings, things like that). There are a few Legendary Bird creatures though, including Akim the Soaring Wind and Yorion, Sky Nomad. Almost all Legendary Birds are White (with one exception), and all but 5 White Birds are also Blue.

Source: https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Akim

Final Fantasy also got in with a few birds, namely as summons. Phoenix has been a recurring summon, ever since Final Fantasy V. It uses mostly Fire magic, as well as healing magic, and the casting of Phoenix usually heals party members and restores them from KO/Death. Pictured here is Phoenix from the upcoming FF XVI.

Source: https://na.finalfantasyxvi.com/world/

Catbird tax.
Source: https://www.boredpanda.com/cat-birds-hybrid-animals/

I hope you enjoyed this trip of mythological birds. It's a long post (compared to the others) and a super wide topic, so hopefully it made a kind of sense. If you liked this post, please have a look at the others in the Koom Valley Does Mythology series!

Part I: The Hydra
https://imgur.com/gallery/ExkDw
Part II: The Leviathan
https://imgur.com/gallery/RKaEv
Part III: The Gorgons
https://imgur.com/gallery/zFZnP
Part IV: The Kraken
https://imgur.com/gallery/5Ny9RT4
Part V: The Turtle
https://imgur.com/gallery/JIkGQ3T
Part VI: The Cat
https://imgur.com/gallery/mzf95cQ
Part VIII: The Behemoth
https://imgur.com/gallery/uq47Ol3