Imdugud

The Imdugud bird, or Anzu bird if you prefer, is the thunder bird of the ancient Sumerians. They were a breed of storm demon. They brought destructive thunderstorms, but were also fierce guardians of homes and holy places.

On of these birds was placed in Enlil's holy water chamber to guard Enlil's Tablet of Destiny. Another of these birds became the god Ninurta. This image depicts neither of those gods.

He's actually rather adorable in my opinion. This is not the first time I start out going for fearsome and end up with adorable. I may put some of my cute golden dragons up at some point to show what I mean. Or perhaps the skeletal dragon that looks like a dandelion.