I had a dream last year that an enormous falcon gave me a ride on its back.  It told me things, most of which I can’t now remember.  And then it raked me on my leg.  When I awoke, I had marks on my right thigh, exactly where the bird raked me in my dream.  I knew somehow the species the falcon belonged to was a real species, and I looked for months, on and off, trying to find a photo that looked like the bird in my dream.

I found it today:

Gerfalkon, one of the largest falcon species in the world.

For more information:  http://animalia-life.com/birds/gyrfalcon.html

I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me, after all I do worship Freyja of the falcon cloak.  I’d imagine feathers from a bird like this would be eminently suitable.