History Main / Thunderbird

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei'' has a recurring demon known as Thunderbird. Though rather than an actual bird, it resembles a floating metal statute that looks more like a totem pole surrounded in electricity.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Despite their names, the two Griffons in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' [[CallAPegasusAHippogriff have more in common with a thunderbird]] [[OurGryphonsAreDifferent than a typical griffon]], having only two legs and no leonine features and fighting using beams of electricity.

* The short-lived series ''Freakylinks'' had an episode where the titular paranormal investigation team digs into stories about a thunderbird. It turns out to be a pterodactyl.

* Despite their names, the two Griffons in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' [[CallAPegasusAHippogriff have more in common with a thunderbird]] [[OurGryphonsAreDifferent than a typical griffon]], having only two legs and no leonine features and fighting using beams of electricity.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', Thunderbirds are golden eagle-like birds that attack by throwing thunderbolts and electromagnetically paralyzing opponents.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Thunderbirds tend to attack in groups and to strafe the whole party at once with lightning attacks. Their original Japanese name, ''Raijincho'', is a portmanteau of [[{{Youkai}} raijin, a mythical Japanese thunder beast]], and ''cho'', meaning "bird".

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsFromTheNewWorld'' Thunderbird is one of the spirits that [[MagicalNativeAmerican Shania]] can fuse with to become a bird-themed CuteMonsterGirl. Since there is no "Thunder" element in the game, this fusion gives her Wind- and Dark-elemental skills instead.

* ''VideoGame/TerrariaThorium'': The Grand Thunder Bird is an immense, vulture-like flier that in battle calls lightning from the sky, shoots electric blasts, and in Expert mode rains down lightning bolts that summon tornadoes.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'':

** The ComMon bird Wattrel isn't that impressive by itself, but its evolved form, Kilowattrel, is a different story; being a 4-foot GiantFlyer.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'': Iwaoropenelep is a large yellow bird that appears in the first game's fourth stratum (Sandy Barrens) as its boss. Among it vast repertoire of attacks, there's a Thunderwing skill capable of electrocuting the playable party, with a chance of paralyzing one or more characters; it is the guardian that protects the way to the remnants of a deceased past world. It returns as a secret LegacyBossBattle opponent in the fourth game (found in a sealed room in the MiniDungeon Moth's Garden), and again in the sixth game as the boss of Sandy Barrens (this time guarding the path to Northern Shrine).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'': The Great Raven is a thunderbird; fittingly, he's one of the only characters in the series with an American accent.

Not to be confused with the series ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}''.

* ''Videogame/DevilMayCry'': Despite its name, the Griffon [[CallAPegasusAHippogriff has more in common with a thunderbird]] [[OurGryphonsAreDifferent than a typical griffon]], having only two legs and no leonine features and fighting using beams of electricity.

** In the mythologies of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquian_peoples Algonquian]] peoples of the Great Lakes and the Northeast, the thunderbird is typically depicted a creature of the sky and thus at war with creatures that dwell underwater or in the underworld, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_panther underwater panthers]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_Serpent#In_Native_American_cultures horned serpents]]. They fight these by hurling thunderbolts at them, hence why lightning strikes the earth from the clouds. They are also associated with rain and other forms of precipitation.

The most common depiction of thunderbirds is based on creatures found in the mythologies of various native American peoples, which are typically depicted as large, powerful and noble beings that live in the sky and battle against entities of the water and the underground. Broadly similar creatures have arisen in other cultures as well, but the North American kind is generally the one most likely to influence their modern portrayals.

* Thunderbirds are extremely prominent, both as creatures and as symbols, in the mythologies and cultures of several native tribes from the Pacific Northwest of North America, as well as those from the Northeast, Great Lakes, Plains and Southwest.

Thunderbirds are immense avian creatures, typically resembling birds of prey, with a connection to or control over storms and lightning. Their powers generally revolve around storm-focused WeatherManipulation, but may also revolve around a broader form of ShockAndAwe with less focus on inclement weather but including phenomena, such as electromagnetic pulses, not associated with angry skies.

* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'': One of Megumi's summons is Nue, an orange owl-like creature with the power of lightning.

* ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance'': Walhalla is unique in having two [[DesperationAttack EXTRAPOWER attacks]] -- first she summons the valkyries to her aid, then she can opt to gather them into a massive thunder bird that attacks across the screen for big damage. Unfortunately for Waldiola and anyone trying to clear the [[BossRush Rivals Fights]] on one life, Walhalla keeps this attack in the last stage of the Valkyries boss fight.

* ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance EXTRAPOWER Star Resistance]]'': Walhalla is unique in having two [[DesperationAttack EXTRAPOWER attacks]] - first she summons the valkyries to her aid, then she can opt to gather them into a massive thunder bird that attacks across the screen for big damage. Unfortunately for Waldiola and anyone trying to clear the [[BossRush Rivals Fights]] on one life, Walhalla keeps this attack in the last stage of the Valkyries boss fight.

* In the US Army, the 45th Infantry Division (which was based out of Oklahoma and had a large number of Native Americans in its ranks) used a [[NonNaziSwastika swastika]] as its divisional insignia; in the 1930s, for [[ThoseWackyNazis obvious reasons]], its insignia was changed to a stylized thunderbird (which is still used to this day).

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Oz is a raven with a wingspan of over five feet, and mechanically is what gets invoked for most of Fischl's combat Lightning powers.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_bird lightning bird]] or impundulu is a recurring figure in the folklore of the [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Mpondo, Xhosa, and Zulu peoples]], and is described as a human-sized black-and-white bird that can summon lightning with a flap of its wings. Unlike the American thunderbird, however, this is an evil creature and an avid drinker of human blood. Also rather than an eagle, it is said to resemble a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamerkop hammerkop]], a wading bird related to pelicans indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa.