Sizzerbill - [Fearsome Critter]

Sizzerbill - [Fearsome Critter]

• About this critter: A clever, half-beast-half-diving-bird with mammalian ears & a sideways scissor beak that cuts fishing line, said to be occasionally reported between guides in the Northern Wisconsin & Minnesota area. - As it's name suggests, its bill is sharp and closes sideways like scissors, allowing it to cut both lines and fish up easily. it delights in ruining fishing trips by cleanly cutting the line & stealing the catch, just as you're reeling it in, it then dashes away (so quickly that you won't see it) into the reeds & off to ruin someone else's day. – it has eyes & ears like a mammals to listen for the sound of someone reeling in a catch. 

• History: Another Critter originating from Yarns of the big woods [1922] at its essence, its a critter (jokingly) used to explain why fishermen's lines where suddenly cut at the last minute when reeling up a fish: if it wasn't caught on a rock or got away: then, it must have been a sizzer bill thats hiding and taunting you. (if you've ever been fishing then you can probably relate to this last-minute disappointment right at the zenith of your day, especially if it happens repeatedly. In frustration, you might want to blame something other than your angling skills or line quality.) - This critter is of course, one step up from those pesky, bait robbers, knowing that, it is said to be the bane of fishermen and the end of many fishing trips.- [it is not to be confused with Skimmers & other birds of the genus Rynchops aka the "scissorbill" or an "incompetent person/union buster"]

[Source: newspapers.com - YARNS OF THE BIG WOODS. 1922]

In the sense that its anatomy allows it to "enjoy cutting" it feels pretty similar to a couple of Yokai (folkloric monsters, from japan), Amikiri especially – but, blaming the fish getting away on something fantastic i suppose, is a tail as old as time.

• See also: Amikiri, Baitrobbers, YARNS OF THE BIG WOODS.

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Art Sticker by @samkalensky part of my fearsome critters /cryptids collection of stickers, check my shop and follow for many more!