thunderbird — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A mythological bird, often associated with stormy weather, especially in various indigenous North American mythologies.

   Examples

   A man there was, grim his expression, just like a Thunderbird his features were frightening.

   The Thunderbird, one of the most powerful symbols of Indigenous American mythology, borrows heavily from eagle features.

   More examples (1)

   Candace Thomas, a Tsleil-Waututh artist, provided the design for the crosswalk which now spans the intersection of Dollarton Highway and Sleil-Waututh Road. It depicts a thunderbird embracing both residential school survivors and missing and murdered Indigenous women, according to the news release.

2. The golden whistler, an Australian insectivorous songbird (Pachycephala pectoralis, formerly Pachycephala gutturalis), whose male is conspicuously marked with black and yellow, and has a black crescent on the breast.

Noun

1. (mythology) the spirit of thunder and lightning believed by some Native Americans to take the shape of a great bird

   Broader terms

   spiritdisembodied spirit