Boogeymen: The Thunderbird

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

I'm into the idea that the thunder bird legend is related to the teratorns that went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Of course, a current sighting of an unknown species may not relate to my pet theory and your description of the bill you saw on this bird certainly rules that out. That is unless there has been, or maybe now, a related species that developed that characteristic you describe, a bill something more like a parrot than an eagle.

So, would you say that the bird you saw looked like an extremely large golden eagle but with a bill like you described? It would be interesting to create a composite photo of what you saw and include something to indicate scale. Very cool subject and sighting.