[14][18] Argentavis may have also ambushed some small live prey, i.e. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. It allows a fairly accurate estimate of its length in life, which was a bit shorter than an entire human arm. Argentavis magnificens (literally magnificent Argentine bird) is the largest flying bird ever discovered. One of the teachers performed some research and discovered a picture that looked like what they saw. View: Full Article | Source: My San Antonio, it might be a thunderbird like said in the story. What could these birds be? Argentavis territories measured probably more than 500 square km, which the birds screened for food, possibly utilizing a generally north-south direction to avoid being slowed by adverse winds. Phorusrhacids were probably the most formidable rivals that Argentavis faced, with the largest species weighing about three times as much as the teratorn. Saw it in Edna!" OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. Is it a monster or myth? a large animal took off into the air. The Giant Teratorn Argentavis magnificens was an absolutely enormous species of flying bird which lived in Argentina during the late Miocene, about six million years ago. It had no feathers . The American South West is truly home to the world's largest flighted birds, so it's not surprising to me that folks in San Antonio would be seeing one of their huge feathered friends and mistaking it for something other than what it really is. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Its status was recently reinforced when it was highlighted on the 1998 Yorkshire Television/Discovery Channel series on cryptids, Into the Unknown. However, there were also true vultures present in the area at that time, and unlike those, T. merriami was also well adapted to hunt for smaller animals which are also known to have utilized the pools. This white-clad spirit (formerly a human mother who tragically lost her children) perpetually haunts rivers and streams throughout the Southwest, looking to lure children to their death. The humerus (upper arm bone) of Argentavis is somewhat damaged. The gator was found near Buffalo Bayou, which is why one Fort Bend County resident told ABC13 he wasn't surprised to see a video of this alligator. Nevertheless, people in modern times have reported sightings of huge birds whose wingspans easily surpass any known living species. Argentavis may have used mountain slopes and headwinds to take off, and probably could manage to do so from even gently sloping terrain with little effort. "My husband was in the garage when he saw it zip by. In addition, Peter Beach, a biology professor, has searched for bioluminescent pterosaurs that may be flying regularly over a river in Washington state. he wasnt the only one who had seen it. In the mountains near Socorro, New Mexico is a natural warm spring that houses some of the rarest animals in the world. Sure, you wont find any unicorns here (bummer), but you will find some other creepy critters that might as well be mythical or ones that are currently mythical but thought to exist anyway by many people and cultures, like Bigfoot or the Chupacabra. You can Upload articles and images here. Very fitting," commented Brett Odorizzi. It was over five feet tall, had dark red eyes, bald head, gorilla-like face and a long beak. . Guadalupe Cantu III was busy working his newspaper route, but he says the big news of that day 10 years ago flew right over his car. So they got some chairs and were sitting on the porch when the thing flew by again! Powered by Invision Community. As a rule of thumb, a wing loading of 25kg/m2 is considered the limit for avian flight. It sounded like something flapping. Teratorn sightings in New Mexico and beyond Editor Mountain Voice 262 subscribers Subscribe 4K views 5 years ago Teratorn sightings in New Mexico and beyond. SEE ALSO: Impressively-sized gator spotted in Missouri City by man attempting to install windows. In 2008, two men, Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton, claimed to possess a frozen body of a Bigfoot specimen. I couldnt tell you what color. So, what about mythical creatures in New Mexico? It was the subject of jokes and concern. Comparison with extant birds suggests it laid one or two eggs with a mass of somewhat over 1 kg somewhat smaller than an ostrich egg every two years. UM-Bot, The first teratorn fossils were discovered in 1909 in famous La Brea Tar Pits in California, the United States. The AMS received video footage from Ring doorbells and dash cameras that show the extremely bright fireball traveling rapidly toward earth. Story: This story happened back in 2002. The big bird. To view more reports and videos of the giant fireball, visit here. Its believed it got lost during migratory flight. Fossil remains of the largest known flying pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus, were found in Big Bend National Park, Texas, in 1972, four years before the first sightings of Big Bird. I actually think folks are seeing either a Golden Eagle, a Vulture or a Condor (the condor being the least likely, although not impossible) All three of those birds can have wingspans up to 15' but on average around 12'. We looked at each other said bye and ran to our own houses. 1 . Only the last species lives in the United States; other large U.S. birds include bald eagles and golden eagles. This Big Bird isnt the adorable one who lives on Sesame Street with his teddy bear Radar, but was named after him in jest. The species apparently had stout, strong legs and large feet which enabled it to walk with ease. Herzog responded: "Seriously? Another mythical creature or spirit said to roam the deserts of New Mexico includes the Mexican banshee known as La Llorona, and then theres El Coco, a boogeyman-type of character said to abduct children at night. [3][14], "Flight performance of the largest volant bird", "Biggest Flying Seabird Had 21-Foot Wingspan, Scientists Say", "On the Size and Flight Diversity of Giant Pterosaurs, the Use of Birds as Pterosaur Analogues and Comments on Pterosaur Flightlessness", "Ecological and reproductive constraints of body size in the gigantic, "Hay un lmite para el tamao corporal en las aves voladoras? Over a hundred specimens have been found, mostly from the La Brea Tar Pits. Skeletal remains show that this relative of the vulture had a wingspan of more than 20 feet and weighed over 120 pounds - large enough to snatch a small child. The first time was like in 2001. Sign up for a new account in our community. As a rule of thumb, a wing loading of 25kg/m is considered the limit for avian flight. Dash cam footage captured the moment a fireball could be seen flying across the night sky in front of Lake Belton High School. I have noticed that some sightings of apparent pterosaurs are on or near water. Locals of northern Mexico and the Rio Grande of Texas have long spoken of a giant bird creature which they call, The one I saw back in the ,70s looked like s pteradactyl. The ability to fly is not a simple question of weight, except in extreme cases. Which looked like a teradactal, was flying over us above our boat at about 2000 feet. 50 birds at 35 40,000 ft.Date: Monday, November 25, 2002 1:58 AMLocation: Arlington, Texas. it is 33 inches tall with an average 13.5 to 16.5 inch wide flower wing span, in a few individual flowers the . One of our favorite New Mexico cryptids isnt really a cryptid at all so much as a Native American legend known as the Thunderbird. The wingspans of larger azhdarchids, such as Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx, have been estimated to exceed 10m (33ft), with less conservative estimates being 12m (39ft) or more. Studies on condor flight indicate that Argentavis was fully capable of flight in normal conditions as modern large soaring birds spend very little time flapping their wings regardless of environment. To get their powers, though, the shapeshifters must murder someone close to them. [8], The finger bones of the Teratornis were fused as in all modern birds; however, part of the index finger forms a shelf which aided in bearing the load of long and stout primaries, enabling the bird to utilize strong upcurrents in flight. Anyways, my father and I fish and hunt all the time. It look like it slowed down and dove in the front yard. It looked like an oversize buzzard. I have to wonder how often this goes on without anyone noticing them because of the extreme altitude of the meeting. Its a little late.Vibes | Houston's hottest party is a secret moving disco with one ruleBallots | More Harris County GOP candidates move to overturn electionsNews | Two new evening anchors will be joining KHOULege | These new laws go into effect in Texas on January 1. Its breeding habits are so slow and unpredictable, and it pretty much can't sustain or repopulate it's own numbers even with nearly 200 of them left in the wild. We went inside and just sat there for a minute. A trapper caught up to him about 60 yards north of Buffalo Bayou, according to Norvell. [6] Indeed, it seems to have been better adapted for utilizing a short run into the wind from an elevated location as condors do, as its legs are proportionally smaller and its stride less than in condors. From Houston to Fort Worth, Texans across the state reported spotting a massive and bright light streaking across the night sky Tuesday. Their legs were similar to an Andean condor's, but stouter, and the feet could hold prey for tearing off pieces, but could not exert a very forceful grip like birds of prey. New World vultures such as the condor are thought to be the closest living relations to Argentavis and other teratorns. Mass estimates for these azhdarchids are on the order of 200250kg (440550lb) and their estimated height on the ground was roughly analogous to an elephant or small giraffe.[13]. . I was about 14 years old. Jealous of the affection the Wampanoag showed the giant Maushop (well, the giant did . The Cinco Ranch gator isn't alone when it comes to recent sightings. [3], Teratornis had legs that were too short for it to take flight by running on flat ground. They said they found it while hiking in the woods in northern Georgia. In 1969, the wife of a Clinton County, Pennsylvania, sheriff saw an enormous bird over Little Pine Creek. A closely related genus, Aiolornis, was about 40% larger and lived at an earlier time; it was formerly known as Teratornis incredibilis, but is distinct enough to be placed in its own genus. The AMS received video . Mortality must have been very low; to maintain a viable population less than about 2% of birds may have died each year. January 7: Policeman Arturo Padilla saw something in the headlights of his cruiser; it was a huge bird. These magnificent animals were doing that in a playful way. Get more stories delivered right to your email. My father and i were fishing out large catfish at the valley acers lake. Stroud's announcement means for the Texans. No one can entirely agree upon what exactly it is. This bird is among the largest land birds, with a wingspan of about 3 m and weighing up to 12kg. Last week while walking from the garage to the house I saw another one. So, here are some creepy things in New Mexico that might just surprise you someday: Have you run into any of these ghastly New Mexico urban legends? But some remembered the Big Bird sightings and they continued to wonder about the creature. Back about six, maybe seven years ago, when Hale-Bopp was making its appearance, I saw another bird that was way out of normal size proportions. Subsequently, they made the public aware that all birds were protected by state and/or federal law. Physical characteristics Currently accepted estimates: Wingspan: 5.8-8 m (19 - 26 ft) Wing area: nearly 7 m (75 square ft) Wing loading: c. 11.5 kg/m Length: 3.5 m (11.5 ft) Height: 1.7-2 m (5.6-6.5 ft) Weight: 60-80 kg (140-180 lb) For comparison, the living bird with the largest wingspan is the Wandering Albatross (3.63 m). Other anatomical features, such as the relatively small and sideward facing orbits and the low skull, are also consistent with a scavenging lifestyle. We take the open-minded perspective: A few species of pterosaurs appear to be still be living, albeit they seem to be mostly nocturnal and rare. Required fields are marked *. Another video from Michael Schwab, a witness in the area, shows the gator being lifted off the ground using a tow truck. Ariana Garcia joined Chron in 2021. This bird, sometimes called the Giant Teratorn, is an extinct species known (as of 2006) from three sites from the late Miocene (6 million years before present) of central and northwestern Argentina, where a good sample of fossils has been obtained. That's how Superman started" It's not clear whether the raresighting is connected to the Quadrantidmeteor shower, which peaked on Jan. 3 and 4 but is still active until Jan. 16. Since A. magnificens is known to have been a land bird, another good point of comparison is the Andean Condor, which is not too distantly related to Argentavis. They stayed around for about 45 55 minutes, then just drifted south until we werent able to focus on them any longer. Sure, you wont find any unicorns here (bummer), but you will find some other creepy critters that might as well be mythical or ones that are currently mythical but thought to exist anyway by many people and cultures, like Bigfoot or the Chupacabra. It left no evidence of its existence and there have been no new sightings since the 1970s. I could tell it was black and it had white tips on the wings. It was a very well lit area and it just landed and it looked like its head was turned like an owls. Hundreds reported spotting a giant fireball flying over Texas and Oklahoma Tuesday night, according to the American Meteor Society. I quote again from my book: I was walking to the small river [near Woodward, Oklahoma]where I usually caught carp fish. In the third edition of mynonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in America,an encounter in theChesapeake area, near the border between Maryland and Virginia, may relate to other sighting reports that I have received from Virginia: I was twenty years old, taking a camping trip with my boss and his friends, and I believe it was near the Maryland-Virginia line in the Chesapeake area. "We were afraid that it would come at us. We couldnt see its face, though. Fortunately, the web is far bigger today and I have discovered some intriguing information about huge bird sightings. They were much higher than the Cessna-type small planes that fly around here. As of now, it's the largest species of flying bird ever discovered. When roosting, it stood over 2.5 feet tall and weighed roughly 33 pounds. It is said that these great creatures once ruled the skies. Giant Bird Sightings All reports of Giant Bird sightings came from the Rio Grande Valley in 1976. Not kill it. [8][4][9] Argentavis retains the title of the heaviest flying bird known still by a considerable margin, for example Pelagornis weighed no more than 22 to 40kg (49 to 88lb). Another wrote that the fireball reportedly crashed in a field in Groesbeck. So, what about, With lots of local lore come lots of potential cryptid sightings, and honestly, were here for it. the thunderbird closely resembles a family of bird called the Teratorn that existed between the Miocene and Pleistocene periods. Fort Bend County Pct. According to description of 1945, Teratornis merriami had a wingspan of around 3.5 to 3.8m (11 to 12ft) and a wing area of 17.5 square meters, standing an estimated 75cm (30in) tall. Someone close to them teachers performed some research and discovered a picture that like... Night sky in front of Lake Belton High School existed between the Miocene Pleistocene! Arm bone ) of Argentavis is somewhat damaged he wasnt the only one who had seen it doing in!, in a playful way about 3 m and weighing up to him about 60 north. Too short for it to take flight by running on flat ground any longer easily surpass any known species... The most formidable rivals that Argentavis faced, with the largest species weighing three... 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