Boobrie
Location: Lochs of western Scotland.
Time: Featured in traditional myths of Scotland, but firmly believed to be real by locals until recently.
While ascribing cryptozoological identities to all mythical beasts may be a bad idea, some myths nonetheless may have their origins in real or even recently extinct animals. One such example is the boobrie, a mythical water-monster said to be an enormous aquatic bird, looking like a loon or cormorant, but possessing talons and an eagle’s beak.
The myth itself features among a great many water-monster myths of the British Isles, indeed, the boobrie can shape shift into the form of other water beasts such as the horse-like Kelpie, a water bull, or even a large horsefly. The boobrie was said to attack livestock and eat otters, its size was prodigious, webbed footprints spreading as large as a rack of deer antlers.
So, there are many mythical attributes of this particular entity, in particular shape shifting and large size. But the general appearance of the boobrie indicates that it may have originally been based on sightings of the extinct great auk (Pinguinus impennis), having the hooked beak, white markings and general appearance of a large diving bird. Given past centuries of traditional re-telling and superstition, it would take on mythical and magical attributes. The boobrie’s call is said to be a bellow like that of a bull, but this may be based on the call of the bittern, which is only rarely seen in Scotland.
So, for a change, there does appear to be a beast behind the myth. But what if the real boobrie were more like that in the myth? Not availed of shape shifting abilities, but still very large and fierce, a monstrous bird? Let us speculate, the Boobrie (Phobocepphus lacophilus) is a very specialized kind of auk related to the guillemot, which has undergone various adaptations to become an aquatic bird of prey. This large solitary bird weighs up to 15 kilograms and has a wingspan of about 2.2 meters, its wings being comparatively short for its size. Possessing a large hooked beak and curved talons, they are one of the fiercest and most aggressive birds in the British Isles. Most of the time they can be found swimming in lochs and coastal waters in Scotland, being most common in the western parts of this country, though they will find secluded upland areas when it is time to breed. They are wing-propelled swimmers, steering with their feet, but despite being adapted mainly to swim, they can fly a fair distance with rapid, powerful wing beats. Its diet is in some ways like a seal, and some ways like an eagle or large skua, they thrive on catching large fish such as salmon and trout, but will also harass and consume other waterbirds and even otters. Notorious in farming areas for descending upon newborn lambs, killing them, and dragging them back to water to be eaten at leisure. Call is a rough, deep booming noise not unlike a bull’s bellow; most commonly heard when the males are courting females. Being such large birds, they have prodigious territories, and during the breeding season, males defend their patch fiercely, all the while trying to entice wandering females to land. Females travel to well-protected upland areas to lay one large egg, the chick remains waiting for the mother to bring back food every few days, as with most sea-birds, the young develop quickly.
Location: Lochs of western Scotland.
Time: Featured in traditional myths of Scotland, but firmly believed to be real by locals until recently.
While ascribing cryptozoological identities to all mythical beasts may be a bad idea, some myths nonetheless may have their origins in real or even recently extinct animals. One such example is the boobrie, a mythical water-monster said to be an enormous aquatic bird, looking like a loon or cormorant, but possessing talons and an eagle’s beak.
The myth itself features among a great many water-monster myths of the British Isles, indeed, the boobrie can shape shift into the form of other water beasts such as the horse-like Kelpie, a water bull, or even a large horsefly. The boobrie was said to attack livestock and eat otters, its size was prodigious, webbed footprints spreading as large as a rack of deer antlers.
So, there are many mythical attributes of this particular entity, in particular shape shifting and large size. But the general appearance of the boobrie indicates that it may have originally been based on sightings of the extinct great auk (Pinguinus impennis), having the hooked beak, white markings and general appearance of a large diving bird. Given past centuries of traditional re-telling and superstition, it would take on mythical and magical attributes. The boobrie’s call is said to be a bellow like that of a bull, but this may be based on the call of the bittern, which is only rarely seen in Scotland.
So, for a change, there does appear to be a beast behind the myth. But what if the real boobrie were more like that in the myth? Not availed of shape shifting abilities, but still very large and fierce, a monstrous bird? Let us speculate, the Boobrie (Phobocepphus lacophilus) is a very specialized kind of auk related to the guillemot, which has undergone various adaptations to become an aquatic bird of prey. This large solitary bird weighs up to 15 kilograms and has a wingspan of about 2.2 meters, its wings being comparatively short for its size. Possessing a large hooked beak and curved talons, they are one of the fiercest and most aggressive birds in the British Isles. Most of the time they can be found swimming in lochs and coastal waters in Scotland, being most common in the western parts of this country, though they will find secluded upland areas when it is time to breed. They are wing-propelled swimmers, steering with their feet, but despite being adapted mainly to swim, they can fly a fair distance with rapid, powerful wing beats. Its diet is in some ways like a seal, and some ways like an eagle or large skua, they thrive on catching large fish such as salmon and trout, but will also harass and consume other waterbirds and even otters. Notorious in farming areas for descending upon newborn lambs, killing them, and dragging them back to water to be eaten at leisure. Call is a rough, deep booming noise not unlike a bull’s bellow; most commonly heard when the males are courting females. Being such large birds, they have prodigious territories, and during the breeding season, males defend their patch fiercely, all the while trying to entice wandering females to land. Females travel to well-protected upland areas to lay one large egg, the chick remains waiting for the mother to bring back food every few days, as with most sea-birds, the young develop quickly.