[2019] Where does dauntless lore originate from?

I just was thinking, that there is no oriental dragon style behemoth even though we do have flying or "gliding" in the game. Also no other 'cliches' to use the term loosely. Also we have shrike and skraev with the "final boss" being Shrowd, so a lot of badass birds lol!

So I was wondering if there is a culture where owls and birds have a big mythical role. My first thought would be maybe Scandinavia but was wondering if anyone knows anything about this? Just interested is all to see if there is a deeper inspiration. Thanks in advance! ❤️