The Werebird/Wereavian (plural: Werebirds/Wereavians)(were-bird/were-avian (plural: were-birds/were-avians)), Were-Bird/Were-Avian (plural: Were-Birds/Were-Avians), or Birdman/Avianman, Were Bird/Were Avian, Bird-Man/Avian-Man, or Bird Man/Avian Man, also known as the Avianthropy (plural: Avianthropies), Avianthrope (plural: Avianthropes), Avianthropic (plural: Avianthropics), or simply Avian (plural: Avians) is a zoanthropic supernatural or cursed transformation of a human into a bird-based creature. These transformations can range from full avian animal forms to hybrids with both human and bird features. Unlike mammalianthropies and reptilianthropes, the avianthropes often embody stealth, survival, flight, cunning, disease, decay, or unexpected intelligence. Some may also carry mythic or symbolic roles—pestilence-bearers, guardians of hidden things, or adaptation and secrecy.
“The avianthrope is a werecreature of the in-between: skybound, earthborn, and forever restless. Neither wholly human nor fully bird, it walks with feathered steps and dreams in thermals. By day, it wears the mask of man, speaking in riddles and watching the skies with a hunger it cannot name. But when the winds shift and the stars align just so—under solstice moons or in the hush before dawn—it changes. Wings burst from shoulder blades with a sound like tearing silk, bones hollow and reknit for flight, and the heart beats faster, driven by a longing older than language. It does not fly for escape. It flies because it must. Legends tell of avianthropes as messengers of forgotten gods, cursed by love of the sky or blessed with the burden of seeing from above. In some stories, they are guardians of storms, in others, thieves of souls who vanish into the clouds. And always, their eyes—sharp, bright, and watching—carry the sky within them, as though they remember the time before men walked, when wings ruled the world.”
Avianthropy transformation refers to the mythical or fictional process by which a human transforms into a bird or an avian-human hybrid. But the avianthropes can involve transformation into any kind of birds, such as ravens/crows/rooks, chickens/roosters/hens, hummingbirds, eagles, owls, peafowls, pheasants, canaries, finches, blue jays, jays, parrots, macaws, penguins, auks, kiwis, ostriches, wild turkeys, domestic turkeys, and more of these birds. Depicting all humans in avian form, known as Aviomorphism (singular: Aviomorphist) or Avianism (singular: Avianist).
- Avianthropism (singular: Avianthropist) is a zoanthropic representation of deities in combined human and avian form.
- Aviotype (plural: Aviotypes) is an avian creature that is from avianthrope identifies as (From avio- + type).
- The word “Avianthropy” originates from a portmanteau of both in Greek and Latin words. In Latin avis, which means “bird” and in Greek Anthropos [ἄνθρωπος], meaning human or person; man or woman. So the term loosely translates to ‘bird human’ or even ‘avian person’.
- Oiseau-Garou is a French name of a werebird.
Transformations[]
The transformation of werebird (werecanary) in three forms as example of the werebird’s transformation under the full moon: the partial shift have the left arm as a werebird’s nearly transformed
Three werebirds as they transformed
Feathers as a Trigger[]
The wings begin to twitch and molt, shedding old feathers in a flurry. New, glossy ones push through as bones crack and reshape. The transformation radiates outward from the wings: spine lengthens, limbs hollow and stretch, skin tightens into sleek avian muscle. A human melts into a raptor-like beast.
“It starts in my shoulders—the itching, the pull. Then the feathers come, and I’m no longer grounded.”
Wing unfolding as a Gate[]
The wings exist hidden, folded under the skin or sealed magically. When the werebird calls upon their form, the wings rip free, unfurling in a spray of light or blood. The spread of wings acts as a magical gate, allowing the full transformation to sweep over the body.
“My wings tear through the silence first—always first. And once they spread, the rest of me remembers what I truly am.”
Wings as Possession[]
The wings themselves are cursed or enchanted relics—strapped to the back or growing unnaturally. When activated, they possess the host, altering not just body but mind. The wings flap once, violently, and the change is instant: bones contort, face sharpens into a beak, humanity fades.
“They whispered to me in dreams. Now they’ve grown roots in my spine. When they open, so do the floodgates.”