thunderbird (n.) Look up thunderbird at Dictionary.com
legendary cause of thunder in many Native American cultures, 1848, a translation of native words, such as Ojibwa (Algonquian) aninikii, Lakotah (Siouan) wakiya, Klamath /lmelmnis/. See thunder (n.) + bird (n.1). In Lakhota, "the thunderbirds call" is "the usual expression for thunder" [Bright].