QUOTE(thecreeper @ May 9 2006, 10:13 AM) [snapback]1180332[/snapback]
I have seen many, many reported sightings of this animal, and how many birds do you know of with a BODY ( not wingspan ) the size of a small car

Reported sightings take place whilst in the air in most cases, I have read up on this too in the past. In the air, there is
nothing at all to make a size comparison with. This makes mistaking the size not only easy, but likely. Scale is really quite difficult to determine for a person experienced in a filed that requires this skill, for the average amatuer, almost impossible.
There are some sightings that take place on the ground and some in tree's, once again, in every case distance is a common factor which distorts the average persons perception of scale.
I may not be an aficionado on Thunderbirds, however, scale is something I
do understand fluently.
The only bird known to have existed wth the body the size of a small car I refrenced n the previous page. Go back and look it up (and you critisise
me in the previous post for not reading every sentence closely!! The cheek!!). I also offered a suitable alternative from what I percieved to be the area. Is it possible that this dinosaurian creature could still be around today? The reports suggest so, I really do not know what to make of The 1977 Lawndale, Illinois Thunderbird Case. That one is intruging and fascinating. The report seems too real and one of the more credible cryptid stories in existance. But having said that I have a huge regard for our methods and find it difficult to believe that such a majestic creature could even possibly remain hidden for so long, yet we find things like the blonde lobster.
PS, Nobody was ready to burn your newfound buddy, it was a case of going through the facts - the process of elimination. That is how things get solved in the real world.

Not wild guesses and silly theories.