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The Unknown Andean Condor
Posted on September 14, 2015 by mathewspilllouis
THE UNKNOWN ANDEAN CONDOR: INTRODUCTION
In the annals of cryptozoology and the more offbeat scientific literature, no general work or discussion would be comprehensive without allusion to the ponderous, persisting topic that long has been treated as mythology: North America’s thunderbird. For a long time, I, too, had discredited the accounts, in particular, the claim that in 1977, in Lawndale, Illinois, a giant bird attacked a child. Only with careful consideration of the facts relating to similar cases, most notably the 1976 “Big Bird” series of sightings in Texas, was I able to construct a hypothesis based on patterns relating to these and various other accounts.
Myth it is no more. What was alleged in Lawndale actually did happen. It is only one of a vast number of cases that, from my examination, tell of a remarkably similar pattern that can allude to only one known species as their origin. That basis is the subject of this blog: Vultur gryphus, the Andean Condor.
My interest in stories of mysterious giant birds started from a passage I read relating to the purported attempt of a bird attacking a child in the town of Lawndale, Illinois in 1977. After examining a documentary film about the subject, which expounded on the incident and included interviews with the witnesses of the attack as well as witnesses of other similar claims, I began to investigate the matter further. While I had long disputed the veracity of the aforementioned story, I have now reached a staggering premise: not only was the story from Lawndale true, it is just one incident of a vast number of anomalous mysteries of which I have reviewed that, in my opinion, all have basis in one and the same known species of bird: the Andean Condor. Not only were Andean Condors present in Lawndale, Illinois in 1977, there have been a greater number of accounts which speak to its presence in that and many other states and regions, from the times antedating European exploration in North America, and also which speak to its presence throughout Latin America and worldwide.
Three years have passed since I took up serious interest in the study of the Andean Condor, and I have decided that creating a blog as a way to disseminate my findings would be necessary. This discussion could not be more interdisciplinary. The types of cases I have examined, as also noted in the outline summary below, fall into various disciplines of study and were derived from general works relating to Fortean phenomena, cryptozoology, Native American studies, ghost stories, cultural folklore and mythology, exploration in the Americas by European explorers, and unidentified flying object phenomena (UFOs), among other areas–these aside from an ornithological and zoological discussion on this species.
The arguments I am presenting are twofold. First, I feel that the Andean Condor applies to the morphological and behavioral descriptions of the birds or “entities” as described in these cases; many of these being diagnostic descriptions of the condor or falling within a threshold that warrants evaluation to this discussion (these latter group of accounts I treat as “approximately attributable”). Second, the cases mandate explanation for the condor’s movements. The argument of its extra-limital movements was difficult to reach, but I have arrived at a stunning realization that likewise will be, eventually, expounded here.
The second prong of my thesis by itself would require less writing and effort, and I had at first believed that I could somehow present my overall “summary” as a single published research paper, or present it as a single blog post. I had queried Jim Ducey with interest to present such a complete report on his site Wildbirds Broadcasting. Since then, little progress has been made by way of preparing such a report–this simply due to the unceasing accumulation of material relevant to the discussion that I have made this year and the research involved. Ultimately, I realized that it would be necessary to create a blog, with the gradual addition of entries relating to various elements of discussion on the condor, this alleviating the burden of trying to both present a complete report at once and one which might forsake a thorough evaluation.
This new blog, “The Unknown Andean Condor,” will allow a full articulation of my arguments and will in essence serve as a monograph of the condor, all of the forthcoming blog entries pertaining to this species, or having relevance to the plight of vultures in general.
As they appear, my posts will include a variety of topics related to this theme:
—-The identity of the thunderbird to a known species
—-The 1977 attack on a child in Lawndale, Illinois, and a significant detail almost wholly ignored in any prior discussions on the account
—-The error American historians perpetuated in translating French explorer Jacques Marquette’s description of the petroglyph which became known as the Piasa
—-Presentation of an early 18th century map, not previously incorporated on anything written on the subject, which depicts a figure that may be related to the discussion on the Piasa
—-The correlation between contemporary sightings of giant birds in the United States and Native American legends of the thunderbird, as well as the Jersey Devil
—-How climatic patterns affect the movements of birds, particularly South American avifauna, and help explain the reason for the appearance of these giants
—-Why proper account has yet to be made of the “thunderbird”–the Andean Condor–away from its natural domain
—-Discussion relating to cases of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), claims of “abduction” by witnesses of UFOs, cases relating to the chupacabra, cases of “flying humanoids,” as well as a discussion on ghost stories and observations of condors as the basis of various folk traditions throughout the Americas.
—-Consideration of the status of the Andean Condor, as well as discussion on the disposition of accidental birds appearing away from their normal distribution in the Andes
—-Discussions relating to vultures in general, including the fossil record and the current status of the living species
The term condor will generally be used in reference to the Andean Condor, exclusively, unless a posting mentions both this and the California Condor. In-citation references to previous posts will being with UAC to designate this blog (“The Unknown Andean Condor”), followed by a numbered reference to the post in question. This post is the second for this site, the first [UAC1] appearing September 14, 2015 as “About “The Unknown Andean Condor”” in the About UAC link on this site. Each post will include its numeric reference before the title.
My motivations to write are also due to consideration of the status of condors, and I feel that, as with the cases of the California Condor, Indian Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture, White-rumped Vulture, and the Red-headed Vulture, humanity may likewise come to having an urgent sense of obligation for the Andean Condor, particularly with regards to cases of individual birds which stray outside of their breeding range–a phenomenon which I am arguing holds in this species despite the lack of established records of its extra-limital movement
If the arguments I am making are sound, it is a matter of time and of making certain that proper account will indeed be made in finding and evidencing the “thunderbird” on the continent.
I have written previously for the aforementioned site Wildbirds Broadcasting on topics of mystery birds, including a report on William Bartram’s misidentified Caracaras (June 18, 2014), and some of my relevant contributions to Wikipedia are found here–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Mmslouis
Mathew Spill Louis
Image of adult female condor courtesy Trisha Shears.
[Written September 14, 2015. Mathew Louis.]
mathewspilllouis
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