The Goofus is a type of bird that has the ability to defy the established laws of physics by being able to fly backwards and not only that but also being able to build its nest upside down. It isn’t exactly established why the Goofus Bird is able to do these seemingly impossible feats. But it like many of the other various Fearsome Critters has featured in many of the Lumberjack Fearsome Critter tales told at the logging camps.
It also like many of the other Fearsome Critters has various descriptions as that is the general nature of folklore. But one description has it having a head resembling a turkey, a long green neck, scales of silver and two wings of differing coloured feathers, one black and the other pink. The name of the bird – Goofus – is perhaps where the word doofus partially originated from, which is given to someone (usually in a humorous manner) who is seen as stupid or dumb, although another origin of the word could be from the German word “doof” meaning stupid, so it could also be that Goofus originated from doofus.
Nonetheless, calling this Fearsome Critter the “Goofus” bird could also be that the Lumberjacks viewed it as a stupid bird as it acted strangely and different to normal birds and they therefore thought it was dumb. Goofus itself became a word of offense, given to people also seen as intellectually challenged and also with indifference to their forward direction.
Unlike the previous Agropelter, the Goofus Bird does not appear to be aggressive or dangerous, but merely a humorous bird that simply doesn’t follow natures rules. Likely the stories that featured this Goofus Bird were more for satirical effect, rather than a story containing the sinister or macabre that relates to the danger of the wilderness. The Goofus Bird could also be an example of a trick of the mind, perhaps on long working shifts, out in the middle of nowhere, the brain surely becomes tired and stressed, not able to work to its full capacity, which can cause it to create illusions and mis-interpretations of visual phenomena.
And now as we come to the end of this curious and perhaps not so fearsome critter… we are left with unanswered questions. Why does the bloody Goofus fly backwards? Does it do it to simply show off, or maybe it does it to confuse predators who would be perhaps rather bewildered by the unusual affair? And what about its nests being upside down? I know one thing this reminds me of, is the ability to lash oneself in another direction, from Brandan Sanderson’s books, The Stormlight Archives. This lashing ability allowed its users to defy the laws of gravity, maybe… just maybe the Goofus Bird has a similar ability? This bird must also have one heck of a tolerance to nausea and lightheadedness, I know if I was always moving backwards and hanging upside down in my home, I would soon be feeling sick and lightheaded.
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