▁simply ▁a ▁story ▁created ▁by ▁John ▁Russell . ▁In ▁the ▁book ▁Records ▁of ▁An cient ▁R aces ▁in ▁the ▁Mississippi ▁Valley ▁... ▁ ▁Chapter ▁ 2 , ▁ 1 8 8 7 ▁by ▁W . ▁Mc Ad ams , ▁the ▁author ▁says ▁he ▁contact ed ▁John ▁Russell ▁and ▁Russell ▁admitted ▁the ▁story ▁was ▁fabric ated . ▁The ▁bird ▁imag ery ▁is ▁not ▁reported ▁in ▁Father ▁Mar qu ette ' s ▁description , ▁which ▁makes ▁no ▁mention ▁of ▁wings . ▁It ▁is ▁also ▁possible ▁that ▁Mar qu ette ' s ▁description ▁and ▁Russell ' s ▁account ▁were ▁both ▁accurate ▁for ▁their ▁respective ▁times . ▁ ▁The ▁image ▁may ▁have ▁been ▁rep aint ed ▁at ▁some ▁point ▁between ▁ 1 6 7 3 ▁and ▁ 1 8 3 6 ▁to ▁rev ise ▁its ▁appearance ▁and ▁icon ography . ▁ ▁When ▁contemporary ▁histor ians , ▁folk lor ists , ▁and ▁tour ism ▁prom ot ers ▁are ▁looking ▁for ▁a ▁narr ative ▁description ▁of ▁the ▁story ▁behind ▁the ▁P ias a ▁" B ird ", ▁they ▁often ▁rely ▁on ▁Russell ' s ▁account . ▁This ▁color ful ▁version ▁of ▁the ▁tale ▁can ▁be ▁adapted ▁to ▁allow ▁a ▁wide ▁range ▁of ▁interpretation ▁and ▁allow ▁other ▁cities ▁and ▁count ies ▁to ▁claim ▁prom ot ional ▁rights ▁to ▁the ▁legend . ▁ ▁See ▁also ▁▁ ▁M antic ore ▁ ▁Ch im era ▁ ▁Ter ator n ▁ ▁Th under bird ▁( my th ology ) ▁ ▁References ▁ ▁Costa , ▁David ▁J . ▁" Culture - H ero ▁and ▁Tr