Monster Mash Month Day 20: Impundulu

The impundulu is a magical bird spoken of by many South African tribes, including the Zulu and the Xhosa. Described as an enormous black and white bird, it can create lightning with its talons and thunder with its wings.

Also known as the lightning bird, the impundulu is said to drink blood and is sometimes associated with witchcraft. Some believe it can take the form of a young man, and will seduce young women. Certain tribes hold that the hamerkop is a manifestation of the impundulu.

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Monster master list.

A bird from South African folklore, specifically Pondo, Zulu, and Xhosa. It’s as large as a human and can summon lightning and storms - at first glance, very similar to the thunder bird that Newt retrieves from Egypt and returns to its native home in Arizona.

Unlike the thunderbird which has six wings, the lightning bird has the usual two and is a shapeshifter, changing its form to that of an attractive young man that seduces young women. It’s vampiric in nature and has an insatiable appetite for blood - in human form it feeds of people, but as a bird it feeds off other birds. It’s often linked with witches and is believed to act as their familiar with one bird serving multiple generations. As witches are considered evil, the lightning bird is also considered an evil creature.

Legends vary about the appearance of the lightning bird. It’s been linked to the Hamerkop (hammerhead stork), but other legends describe it as black and white with a fiery red tail, bill and legs. Still others say it is iridescent like a peacock, or that it appears only in the form of lightning itself. It lays its eggs where the lightning hits the ground and these can either be a bad omen that must be destroyed or a good omen that must be kept.