Beasts of the Sky

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to fly? The smallest bird has powers we will never share. But mythic creatures of the air have even greater powers. Imagine a bird so huge it blocks out the sky, or stir up storms with its wings. In myths and stories, winged horses, dragons and even people all have the power of flight. These stories help express the wonder and awe inspired by looking up at the sky. Download this printable colouring page > CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BEAST OF THE SKY Pegasus Phoenix Roc Tengu VIEW THE BESTIARY >

Debunking certain myths surrounding beasts of the sky

However fantastical they may seem, many beasts of the sky have their roots in the natural world. Strange sights can — through misidentification, speculation, fear or exaggeration — inspire tall tales as people seek to make sense of the world around them.

• The idea of a colossal bird swooping down to seize large animals or even humans isn’t such a stretch. Imagine a bigger version of an eagle, hawk or falcon snatching its prey. The Roc was likely based on a real bird, the Aepyornis, which once lived in Madagascar. Though flightless and certainly unable to lift elephants, it stood over 3 m (10 feet) tall and laid the largest eggs in the world. European sailors may even have believed the huge birds they saw were the chicks of even more massive and dangerous birds.
  
  
• The big bird of Maori legend was probably the Haast’s eagle. Unlike the Aepyornis, this powerful predator not only could fly, it could attack at 80 km/h (50 mph). Ironically, its main prey was another mammoth bird, the flightless moa, which weighed up to 15 times as much as the eagle. Both the Aepyornis and Haast’s eagle died out around the 1500s — recently enough to have been encountered by our near ancestors.