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Fur, Feather, Fin - Glaucous Macaw
  • Sidestory


    • Glaucous macaw​


    ​
    Description:
    The glaucous macaw is (with a few exceptions due to diseases or genetic and statistical anomalies) between 66 and 72 cm long with an average of 70 cm for a weight of around 800 grams on average. To the human eye male and female look similar with mostly pale turquoise-blue with a large, greyish head but for them and any other species capable of seeing ultraviolet they have sexually dimorphic plumage in the UV spectrum with broad stripes on the wings and chest of males and long but thin stripes on the tail and back of females. The term glaucous describes its colouration. It has a long tail and a large bill. It has a yellow, bare eye ring and half moon-shaped lappets bordering the mandible.

    The skin of a glaucous macaw is seemingly translucent and thin, it is covered by their feathers. Their skin cells help make up the beak,cere,scales of the legs and feet and claws.

    They have between 2400 to 2500 feathers wich assist them in flight, keep them warm, attract potential mates and scare away predators. Small, subtle contour feathers cover the body. These help to insulatethe macaw.They will fluff up their body feathers to intensify insulation and smooth them down to cool off. They will also lift and lower patches of their feathers to show off.

    The glaucous macaws has a body consisting of:

    Two Zygodactyly (two toes facing forward and two back) clawed legs wich are sufficiently dexterous to be able to use their feet to manipulate food and other objects with a high degree of dexterity,they exhibit "handedness", a distinct preference with regards to the foot used to pick up food, with adult parrots being almost exclusively "left-footed" or "right-footed",the preference between left and right differs from one species to another, in the case of the glaucous macaw it's left which predominates.

    A long, pointed feather tail.

    A pair of elliptical wings which, thanks to their rounded and shortness, allow for tight maneuvering in confined spaces such as dense vegetation,The wings are also extensions that assist with flight. The wings are compounded for strength. They act as the arm and hand bones of a human, if you will.

    And one head comprising:

    A curved, broad bill. The upper mandible is prominent, curves downward, and comes to a point. It is not fused to the skull, which allows it to move independently, and contributes to the high biting pressure they are able to exert. A healty glaucous macaw, has an average bite force of 28 kg/cm2 which is needed for breaking into hard seeds and nuts and for excavating their nesting holes in trees and soft rocks. Though rarely used in serious fighting, the beak can be a formidable weapon if a bird feels threatened, and they are capable of killing other birds.The lower mandible is shorter, with a sharp, upward-facing cutting edge, which moves against the flat part of the upper mandible in an anvil-like fashion. Touch receptors occur along the inner edges of the keratinised bill, which are collectively known as the "bill tip organ", allowing for highly dexterous manipulations. They have a strong tongue (containing similar touch receptors to those in the bill tip organ), which helps to manipulate seeds or position nuts in the bill so that the mandibles can apply an appropriate cracking force.

    Of two ears holes located below and behind each eye under feathers

    And of two eyes positioned high and laterally in the skull, allowing a visual field unique to them and other parrots among the birds. Without turning its head, a glaucous macaw can see from just below its bill tip, all above its head, and quite far behind its head. They also have quite a wide frontal binocular field for a bird, although this is nowhere near as large as primate binocular visual fields. Unlike humans, they are also sensitive to ultraviolet light,the eye is one of their largest organs in size.To aid their survival, bird eyelids were designed so that their vision is not impaired even when they blink!! They have 3 eyelids with the upper and lower eyelids lined with small bristle feathers. The 3rd eyelid, called the nictitating membrane, is used for blinking keeping the eyeball moist and clean. Lying beneath the eyelids on the nostril side, it is transparent and allows them to see when blinking. It has been noted that some birds use this eyelid as safety glasses while flying. They can close this 3rd eyelid while flying!

    Life cycle:
    The mating season starts at the beginning of the summer rains,at the start of the year with nests constructed in tree cavities or cliff faces depending on the habitat,hollows of sufficient size are only found in trees around 60 years of age or older, and competition is fierce. Existing holes are enlarged and then partially filled with wood chips,then mating season extends up to May, when the young begin to fledge and leave the nest. A pair of glaucous macaw lay two to four eggs per year.The eggs are incubated for approximately 27 days,the male tends to his mate whilst she incubates. Althougt some pairs produce four chicks, the average survival rate is three per pair. However,even if most do ther is pairs of birds in the wild population who don't mate often or at all. The young remain with their parents for up to a year. Juveniles reach sexual maturity around 3–4 years of age.The average lifespan is 46 to 49 years.

    A female bones become denser during breeding time. This is to enable her to store the calcium needed to create eggshells. A female's skeleton can weigh up to 20 percent more during breeding season due to calcium storage, then the rest of the time.
    Senses:

    They have a keen sense of sight,with eyes having all of the cones that allow them to see the colors of the spectrum. In addition, they have a fourth cone making them able to see in the UV range, they can recognize details and to tell the difference in colors.

    They also have an acute sense of touch. Parrots will use their feet and their mouths to touch their surroundings, to play, and to determine what is safe to perch on or chew on or eat. You will notice this behavior quite frequently if you watch them. They are discovering and examining objects just as a human would use their hands.

    The glaucous ears are located below and behind each eye.Their ears appear as holes. Parrots in general are known to have the capability to recognize sound waves and determine where the sound is coming from. However, birds seem to be less receptive to higher and lower pitch.

    The heare holes of the macaw are protected under special fine feathers wich cut down on wind noise These feathers deaden the howl of the wind as it rushes past their ears and allows them to hear other sounds that might be more important. These special feathers work just like the black foam you see covering a microphone. The end result is that Parrots and most other birds can hear just about as well (or even better) than we can.
    A parrot's hearing is not so much more sensitive than ours as it is more detailed. They hear things differently than we do. For instance, where we might only perceive a single tone of sound, they will hear several.

    The glaucous macaw sense of smell is theorized to be limited since they don't have a lot of receptors for scent. but their taste buds are also limited compared to ours. However we certainly see Parrots respond eagerly to foods they appear to like, so it is possible that the few ones they have are very effective or that we have not yet found all of them, this is something that is still being studied by the zoologists.

    Habitats/routine:
    It prefers semi-open, somewhat wooded habitats. It usually avoids dense, humid forest, and in regions dominated by such habitats, it is generally restricted to the edge or relatively open sections (e.g. along major rivers). In different areas of their range, these parrots are found in savannah grasslands, in dry thorn forests known as caatinga, and in palm stands or swamps,areas including seasonally inundated savannas, wetlands and anthropogenic areas habitats interspersed with a mosaic of savannas, are good indicators for the presence of the macaws.

    Predators:
    Beyond the poachers, the predators of the glaucous macaw are numerous, the false vampire bats, certain felines and raptors are the most common with more rarely monkeys and snakes.

    Food:
    The primary diet of Glaucous macaw are the nuts but seeds are also eaten, as well as flowers and fruits.

    The macaw usually forages in groups. They preferentially feed on the palms and trees who grow in groves, mixed together with taller trees. A tall tree is selected by the flock as base to carefully inspect the feeding area. First a pair descends to the level of the palms to assess the suitability, the pair then returns to base, and then the entire flock descends to decide if it is worth staying around. If it is, then the macaws generally feed directly at the site, tearing the fibrous pulp off the fruit to obtain the extremely hard and thick-shelled nut. The pulp is often discarded while trying to get the cores as fast as possible. The heavy bills appear to have evolved specifically to crack open the palm nuts with a chisel-shaped edge, being precisely of the correct size and shape. Upon occasion the birds maw fly off to a better perch to consume the nut, sometimes even carrying a branchlet with a few fruit. Such perches are generally a branch of a tall tree or a cliff face, and the ground below such a perch will become littered with piles of cracked palm nut shells, and are thus easily spotted.

    The glauous macaw serve as pollinators for several species of large-fruited trees.Indeed macaws are very messy eaters,and this species is no different. A study found a significant number of undamaged palm nuts on the ground below the branches or rocks where the birds occasionally carry their harvest.

    A method by which the birds may secondarily disperse the nuts is by their habit of coming down to the ground to search out the nuts regurgitated by cattle, which eat the fruit, but usually cough up the large seeds, cleaned of pulp, which often aggregate in areas where the ruminants rest, and some also appear to be viable after this ordeal. Flocks of Lear's macaws will congregate at cattle corrals and walk around on the bare ground of rumination sites. After finding one, the regurgitated nut is often eaten on a high perch elsewhere.

    Interesting anecdotes:
    Their latin name is "Anodorhynchus glaucus"

    They cannot sweat because they do not have sweat glands. For this reason they must find a way to keep themselves cool. If you notice them holding their wings away from their body with mouth open, curling their tongue, this is a normal behavior to help keep cool.

    They are greatly appreciated by the inhabitants of Guangchou for their endearing habit of reproducing sounds,their love of cuddling and their beauty,poacher learned that the hard way.

    They have pneumatic bones. These particular bones contain air sacs and in certain cavities of the body. Pneumatic bones help lighten the body and cool them more proficiently. You must always handle a bird carefully because some bones in the bird are hollow. These hollow bones are much lighter making it easier for flight but because they are hollow it makes them more vulnerable to break.

    These birds are said to have inspired the japanese poet Kobayashi Issa to write a haiku about them:
    "Calm break of the day
    before blue glaucous macaw
    betrayed by the tea"
    the haiku is said to have been inspired by a visit he made to guagchou in his youth when he worked for a shipping company in tokyo, while he was having morning tea he was surprised to find in his cup a leftover droppings by one of the glaucous macaws who were sitting above the terrace.

    They have ten neck vertebrae,this makes a parrot's neck more mobile. A parrot can turn its head almost 180 degrees, looking over its shoulder. In the wild this gives the bird an advantage in spotting food and/or predators and to scare peoples who are not used to it.

    Glaucous macaws were introduced into Guangzhou in 1832 from northern Argentina by a South American trader, the second daughter of the British diplomat of the time Ada Aworth had fallen in love with them, finding them magnificent and amusing, the trader smelled a good potential deal and successfully negotiated with the father after that during the following trips he brought several cages, enough for a viable breeding population, over time enough escaped to create a thriving breeding population in the Guang Islands to the point that it was decided that there was no real reason to keep them in an aviary when the trees in the garden (which produced nuts that birds are very fond of) had a handful each on their branches.
    They were released in an event now remembered as "the great blue wind" which was immortalized in painting by the artist Haru Dae

    The respiratory system is extremely efficient and sensitive. Although it is capable at exchanging gases in the system, two complete breaths are required to do the same work that a single breath does in people; because of this you may observe your parrot breathing quickly, this is normal behavior.

    Currently considered extinct or almost extinct in their native South America, the Guangchou population is the last known with certainty in the world. Repopulation projects in South America with breeding pairs of Guangchou are being studied at the diplomatic level.

    I would be happy to hear any constructive critisism or modification suggestion if i missed something or got it wrong.
    Hope you like it.

    Any thoughts ?
     
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  • Sidestory
    • Carcer said:
    Thanks.
    About the goat how would it have moved to guangchou ?
    Or do you mean create a goat inspired by that one ?
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    Well someone with power in the past could just have liked Switzerland cheese a lot and wanted to make sure they could have a consistent supply, or you could do something more funny and say they are the leftovers of a cheese making rivalry that got very heated.
     
    maybe,i was thinkink of creating a custom specie for guangchou inspired from jacob sheep but i can mix you idea with it


    edit:

    QM Did we build libraries when we created the educational system or is this something we will have to do later?
     
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    Nice work Carcer!

    HC, are the frigates cutting steel before we build the semiconductor complex, or is the Navy holding off untill there's actual hardware to integrate?
     
    CyberFemme said:
    HC, are the frigates cutting steel before we build the semiconductor complex, or is the Navy holding off untill there's actual hardware to integrate?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Retro-causal steel cutting will occur. They will finish a hull to the rough point as to where they should put in hardware the moment you have the same rolling out the factory.

    A hip-hip-hurray for inter-industrial communication facilitated by CyberSyn!
     
    I might see if I can shake loose an action to pair with the reactor design then to switch the frigates and later OPVs over to nuclear.

    I was kind of still in the mindset of military reactors when I designed them and didn't really appreciate that these are supposed to be mass production walk-away-safe passive marine microreactors.

    Standardizing on a closed cycle nitrogen Brayton powerplant of 20 MWe output is actually really viable (I've dug into marine propulsion and industrial processes heat and 20 MWe / 50 MWth basically covers everything we need on the civilian side and smaller naval stuff, we won't need a bigger reactor until we build DDGs/CVNs - those need 80 MWe reactors).
     
    Fur, Feather, Fin - East Asian Goshawk
  • Sidestory


    • East Asian Goshawk​


    ​
    Description:
    This raptor has short broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to manoeuvring through trees. It is 28–37 cm in length and 70-78 cm of windspan for the males and 30-40 cm/75-82 cm for the female making it a small-sized raptor. The larger size and a crest, clearly visible in profile, are the best distinctions from its relative, the Besra.

    The male has a dark brown crown, grey head sides and black moustachial and throat stripes. The pale underparts are patterned with rufous streaks on the breast and bars on the belly. The larger female has a browner head and brown underpart streaks and bars. The juvenile has pale fringes to its head feathers, and the underpart background colour is buff rather than white.Individuals that live a long life may gradually become paler as they age, manifesting in mottling and a lightening of the back from a darker shade to a parchment pale color,juveniles have pale-yellow eyes while adults typically develop orange-colored eyes, though some may have only brighter yellow or occasionally ochre or brownish eye color.

    The flight is a characteristic "slow flap, slow flap, straight glide", similar to other Accipiter species such as the northern goshawk.

    Life cycle:
    Adult goshawks return to their breeding grounds usually between March and April.Courtship flights typical are above the canopy on sunny, relatively windless days in early spring. Display flights not infrequently escalate into an undulating flight, similar to a wood pigeon but with sharper turns and descents, and are sometimes embellished with sky-dives that can cover over 200 m . One study found undulating display flights more than three times more often done by males than females. After display flights have concluded, the male typically brings a prepared fresh prey item to the female as part of the courtship. In general, these displays are presumably to show (or reinforce) to the potential mate their health and prowess as breeding partner. Copulation is brief and frequent, ranging up to nearly 520 times per clutch (on average about 10 times a day or 100-300 throughout the season), and may be the male's way of ensuring paternity since he is frequently away gathering food by the time of egg-laying, although extra-pair copulation is extremely rare. Female solicits copulations by facing away from male with drooped wings and flared tail-coverts. The male, wings drooped and tail-coverts flared, drops from a branch to gain momentum, then swoops upward and mounts her back. Both birds usually call while mating. Fidelity studies show that about 80–90% of adult females breed with the same male in consecutive years, whereas up to 96% of males mate with the same female in consecutive years.Males intruding are in some cases not evicted and ended up mating with the female, with the male of the pair not stopping it

    Nesting areas are indefinite, a nest may be used for several years, also a nest built years prior may be used or an entirely new nest may be constructed. When nest constructing, the pair will often roost together. Males construct most new nests but females may assist somewhat if reinforcing old nests. While the male is building, the female perches in the vicinity, occasionally screaming, sometimes flying to inspect the nest. At other times, the female may take a more active role, or even the primary one, in new nest construction and this is subject to considerable individual variation. For the nesting tree, more than 200 species of conifer have been used leading to believe that any tree with well placed strong branches will be judged as usable. In some areas, the nests may be lined with hard pieces of bark and also with green sprigs of conifers. Often the tallest tree in a given stand is selected as the nest tree and this is often the dominant tree species within the given region and forest. Most nests are constructed under the canopy or near the main fork of a tree , averaging nest height ranged from 5.8 m to 25 m . In the dwarf trees , nests have been found at only 1 to 2 m off the ground, and very rarely on felled trees, stumps or on the ground. In some studies up to 15% of nests are in dead trees. More significant than species is the maturity and height of the nesting tree, its structure (which should have ample surface around the main fork) and, perhaps most significantly, little to no understory below it.

    Nests, especially after initial construction, may average between 80 and 120 cm in length and 50 to 70 cm in width, and are around 20 to 25 cm deep. After many uses, a nest can range up to 160 cm across and 120 cm in depth and can weigh up to a ton when wet. They may also adopt nests of other species,but 93% of the nests are built by the goshawks themselves. One particular nest on the southeast coast of guangchou was used continuously by different pairs for a period of 17 years and named "the nest that has been there for a while" by local villager. A single pair may maintain up to several nests, usually up to two will occur in an area of no more than a few hundred meters. One nest may be used in sequential years, but often an alternate is selected. During an study , many alternate nests were used, 27 pairs had two, 10 had 3, 5 had 4, one had five and one pair had as many as 11. The extent of use of alternate nests is unknown as well as their benefit, but they may reduce significant levels of parasites and diseases within the nest.The goshawk's nest area can be as small 1 to 2 ha of woods and less than 10 hectares are commonplace. Nests are not typically found near forest edges, and usually only one active nest occurs per 100 ha , with active nests from different breeding pairs being seldom less than 600 m apart. The most closely spaced active nests by a separate pair on record was 400 m , another case of two active nests 200 m apart in was a possible case of polygamy.

    The eggs are laid at 2- to 3-day intervals on average , taking up to 9 days for a clutch of 3–4 and 11 days for a clutch of 5. The eggs are rough, unmarked pale bluish or dirty white.The average dimensions of the eggs are reported at 57.76 to 59.2 mm in height by 44.7 to 45.1 mm in width,weight of the eggs average 59 g with extreme weights of 365 to 75 g. Clutch size almost always averages between 2 and 4 eggs, with a median around 3, rarely as few as 1 or as many 5–6 will be laid. In combination spring weather and prey population levels seem to drive both egg laying dates and clutch size.If an entire clutch is lost, a replacement can be laid within 15 to 30 days.

    During incubation, females tend to become quieter and more inconspicuous. The mother can develop a brooding patch of up to 15 by 5 cm on her underside. She may turn the eggs as frequently as every 30 to 60 minutes. Males may incubate as many as 1 to 3 hours, but usually less than an hour, early in incubation but rarely do so later on. During daylight females can do as much as 96% of the observed incubation. The incubation stage last for any time between 28 and 37 days (rarely up to 41 days in exceptionally big clutches), varying in different parts of the range. After hatching occurs, the male does not come directly to the nest but instead just delivers food (usually already plucked, beheaded or otherwise dismembered) to a branch near the nest which the female tears apart and shares between herself and the nestlings. Food deliveries by the male can be daily or as infrequent as every 3 to 5 days. In turn, the female must feed the young about twice a day in order for the chicks to avoid starvation. Caching of food has been recorded near the nest, but only before the young start feeding themselves. Food deliveries must average about 250 to 320 g per young goshawk per day for them to successfully fledge, or 700 to 950 g total daily and 60 to 100 kg throughout the season for an average sized clutch of around three. Females will also start capturing prey later on, but usually only after the young have already fledged. Goshawks often vigorously defend their territories fiercely from all intruders, including passing humans. When the nest is approached (especially soon after hatching) the goshawk will engage in their defensive kakking vocal display accompanied by exaggerated swooping in flight which quickly phases into a violent attack, potentially causing painful (but usually minor,with the exeption of a few people stupid enough for ignoring the warnings and who suffered damage to the skull and sometimes shock due to the sending of rock on their skull, cases of human death are very rare) injuries and blood loss. Research has indicated that attacks on humans are mostly done by adult females (more than 80% of the time) and are rarely pressed unless a person is by themselves. However, large groups and loud noise can appear to irritate the female and may cause her to attack the next lone person who comes near the nest. Occasionally, both males and females have been recorded abandoning the nest and their mates. There are a few rare cases where males successfully reared up to 4 young after the female abandoned the nest or was killed between the 2 and 3rd week. Otherwise male will continue delivering prey but without the female all the nestlings will starve to death and the food simply rots. In cases where the male abandons the female and the brood, she may be able to successfully brood but usually only one nestling is likely to survive to fledge without the male's contribution of prey. At other times the mother may be replaced, sometimes forcefully, by another female, usually an older mature one. Exceptional cases of polygamy, with a male mating with two females, have been reported these breeding attempts fail in 57% of the cases.

    Hatching is asynchronous but not completely, usually an average sized clutch takes only 2 to 3 days to hatch, although it may take up to 6 days to hatch a clutch of more than 4 eggs. Hatchlings start calling from within the shell as much as 38 hours before hatching, as a faint chep, chep, chack, peep, peep, peep may be heard. The young are covered with down and altricial (as are all raptors) at first but develop rapidly. Hatchlings measure about 10 cm long at first and grow about 5 to 9 cm in length each week until they fledge. The mothers typically brood the nestlings intensively for about two weeks, around the time grayer feathers start to develop through the nestlings' down. The most key time for development may be at three weeks when the nestlings can stand a bit and start to develop their flight feathers. Also at the three-week stage, they can reach about half the adults' weight and females start to noticeably outgrow the males. However, this growth requires increased food delivery so frequently results in lower nest attendance and, in turn, higher predation rates. Also rates of starvation at this stage can exceed 50% especially in the youngest of large clutches of 4 to 5. Nestlings at four weeks are starting to develop strong flight feathers, which they frequently flap; also they can start to pull on food but are still mainly fed by female and begin to make a whistling scream when she goes to fetch food from the male. More active feeding behavior by nestlings may increase their aggression towards each other. By the 5th week, they have developed many typical goshawk behaviors, sometimes mantling over food, testing balance by extending one leg and one wing at edge of nest (called "warbling" by falconers) and can wag their tails vigorously. Starvation risk also increases at this point due to their growing demands and, due to their incessant begging calls, vocal activity may court predators. In 6th week, they become "branchers", although still spend much of the time by the nest, especially by the edge. The young goshawks "play" by seizing and striking violent at a perch or by yanking off leaves and tossing them over their back. Wing feathers do not develop highly dimorphically, but male branchers are better developed than females who have more growing to do and can leave the nest up to 1–3 days sooner. The young rarely return to the nest after being 35 to 46 days of age and start their first flight another 10 days later, thus becoming full fledglings. Goshawk nestlings frequently engage in "runting", wherein the older siblings push aside and call more loudly and are thus are feed more often at food deliveries, until the younger siblings may either starve to death, be trampled or killed by their siblings (referred to as siblicide or "cainism"). There is some evidence that mother goshawks may lessen the effects of runting by delaying incubation until their last eggs are laid. Food supply may be linked to higher rates of siblicides and, in many locations with consistent prey levels, runting and siblicide can occur somewhat seldom (meaning they are "facultative" rather than "obligate cainist"). Nonetheless, either by predation, starvation or siblicide, few nests produce more than 2 to 3 fledglings.

    At about 50 days old, the young goshawks may start hunting on their own but more often eat carrion either provided by parents or biologists. Most fledglings stay within 300 m of the nest at 65 days of age but can wander up to 1 km,it's at this point that they will begin to search fo their own rock, before dispersal at between 65 and 80 days old in sync with the full development of their flight feathers. Between 65 and 90 days after hatching, more or less all young goshawks become independent. There is no evidence that parents aggressively displace the young in the fall (as other raptorial birds have sometimes been reported to do), therefore the young birds seek independence on their own. Goshawk siblings are not cohesive together past 65 days, except for some lingering young females.5% of radio-tagged young (entirely males) were found to disperse to another breeding area and join a different brood as soon as their flight feathers were developed enough. These seem to be cases of moving to a better food area. Parents and adoptive young seem to tolerate this, although parents do not seem to be able to tell the difference between their own and other young. It is only after dispersal that goshawks typically start to hunt and seem to drink more often than older birds, sometimes spend up to an hour bathing.

    The lifespan in the wild is variable. It is known that in captivity, northern goshawks may live up to 27 years of age. Wild birds that survive their first two years can expect a lifespan of up to 11 years.There is one record of a 16-year, 4-month-old goshawk.Starvation was found to account for 8-9% of deaths were from starvation,28% of mortality was from disease.Variable numbers of goshawks are killed by flying into man-made objects such as power lines and buildings and by automobiles, although lesser numbers are affected by powerline collisions than larger types of raptor.

    Senses:
    They,like most birds, are tetrachromats having four types of colour receptors in the eyeallowing them to perceive ultraviolet light. Other adaptations allow for the detection of polarised light or magnetic fields. This is due to the large number of photoreceptors in the retina (up to 1,000,000 per square mm , compared to 200,000 in humans), a high number of nerves connecting these receptors to the brain, and an indented fovea, which magnifies the central portion of the visual field.

    Habitats/routine:
    The vast majority of the species lives on Guangchou with a small population in Taiwan, on the disputed islands and along the Chinese coast facing Guangchou.
    It is primarily a a coastal forest bird bird, and an all-year resident ousite of breeding season when he will leave his personal nest to go to his breeding ground.

    Predators:
    They get attacked and can be eaten by hawks that are larger, eagles, owls, raccoons, foxes, and snakes. Their position on the food chain keeps them out of reach of most predators. However, hawk eggs and younger hawks who haven't developed full strength can still be gobbled up.

    Food:
    Like most hawk's their diet is predictable and includes a variety of smaller animals. Some of these small animals include snakes, lizards, fish, mice, rabbits, squirrels,bugs,smaller birds and any other type of small game that is found on the ground,but unlike the other hawks, this one is extremely fond of shellfish and crustaceans.

    Like most birds of prey, they are also opportunistic predators and scavengers.

    Interesting anecdotes:
    The most unique feature of this beautiful bird is undoubtedly its companion stone.
    In fact, as soon as the animal has started to move outside the maternal nest it will begin to look for its own companion pebbles, the first companion pebbles of a young one generally do not weigh more than a few tens of grams but that of a adult varies between 0.68-1.58 kg, this practice seems to have been developed as a method for opening shellfish (in the manner of otters) and shells of seafood as well as a means of defence, in fact when in front of a closed shell or a shell that is too solid, the companion pebbles will be used to open it by hitting it (although testimonies of the use of sharp companion pebbles used for slicing remain to be verified).

    The companion pebbles can be used for defense by dropping it from a great height or by sending it violently at the skull of any threat, which for a stone companion of an adult can be a significant danger for most animals,fortunately, unless during the brooding period they are more likely to ignore large animals such as humans and even if they decide to attack it will only be after a certain amount of clear warning.

    The stone mainly stays in the nest when it is not brought for a hunting or defense trip, when it is carried will most often be carried in a claw although the use of the beak is not too uncommon, rarely the stone will be temporarily left in a hidden area that is difficult to access when the bird thinks that it will need its claws and beak at the same time, often in this type of case it will prefer to bring it back to the nest before returning to its affairs.

    Their mating calls have been described by some ornithologists as a painful discordance reminiscent of a subtle blend between the sound of someone scratching a blackboard and that of a domestic accident involving an in-sink food garbage grinder and genitals.

    If the target has been stunned by the stone, the bird will try either if it is mad, defending its breeding nest or hungry to shred the weak points of the enemy (throat, eyes, lower abdomen) or if it estimates its chances as bad or is not particularly angry it will try to recover its stone and leave, if it cannot immediately recover its stone it will wait in the surroundings to recover it, some birds have been seen waiting months for an opportunity to recover it their stone because of animals having established their den too close to the stone for him to retrieve it, even establishing a temporary nest.

    His scientific name is Lapis omissis avibus and his common name is stone bird.

    Once it has become large enough to move on to the next companion stone, the previous one which has become too small will be delicately stored in the raptor's personal nest, in fact a strong affection on the part of these birds seems to exist towards these stones gently shaped over the years of use, given that depressive behavior seems to appear in the event of loss of said stones, this has led to the qualification of the theft of said stones as cruelty towards animals.

    Attempts at militarization have taken place throughout history with mixed success, it has proven possible to train the animal to drop metal spikes on a particular target but the training is extremely difficult and it is necessary that the target is dressed in a different way from those around it and that this way corresponds very closely to what the training dummy was wearing, meaning that each bird could only be trained for one type of outfit, after a few decades any attempt at anything other than VIP assassinations was abandoned.
    I would be happy to hear any constructive critisism or modification suggestion if i missed something or got it wrong.
    Hope you like it.

    Any thoughts ?

    Qm what are the inhabitants of Guangchou called?, Guang? Guangian?,and i would have a few question wich answer would help me with the next animal.
     
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  • Sidestory
    • HeroCooky said:
    And ask away!
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    1: Can I have more details on the battle where the tiger was catapulted? Where, when, against whom?, etc., no need to be detailed just have a general idea of the progress/the participants/the spatiotemporal framework/the result of this battle.

    2 :Are you opposed to the fact that the tiger catapulted during this battle is a member of the semi-aquatic tiger species whose idea I presented to you on discord for approval?, and that this tiger is the bloodthirsty and badass companion of 'an admiral/captain/whatever the rank of the chief of naval defense of the time equally badass and thirsty for combat, and that said admiral catapulted his companion towards the enemy flagship (on the canvas to cushion or in the water nearby so that the tiger could climb on board), before joining him whether with the same catapult or by boarding it (perhaps by impaling the enemy ship with a naval ram during the confusion of the enemies caused by the tiger before jumping into the boarding while hanging on a rope?)and slaughtering the enemy command?
    I think this could make a nice little story in the anecdote section, I am quite ready to modify the details or even large pieces to better stick to the canon of the quest.

    3:Would you agree if the six legged flopa only resembled the normal floppa thanks to a parallel evolution rather than thanks to a connection between the two?
     
    Carcer said:
    1: Can I have more details on the battle where the tiger was catapulted? Where, when, against whom?, etc., no need to be detailed just have a general idea of the progress/the participants/the spatiotemporal framework/the result of this battle.
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    In the summer of 982 AD, a coalition of the [Twice-Born Tiger] Tribes located in the north of Guangchou (the tribes would go on to become an order of militarist monks creating the Monastery Fortresses and would use mustard gas in the various unification wars of Guangchou) sailed out against a fleet from the Chinese Emperor Jingzong seeking to establish a foothold on the island before taking all of it via military force. The result was a near-disaster for the Chinese, as the captured navigators from Guangchou that were supposed to lead them through the coral reefs shielding the island betrayed them, allowing the tribes to use their shallower and faster ships to harass and burn most, with the heaviest ship the tribes had available being used to fling burning debris at the Chinese fleet in utter disaray until the leading Chief was informed that the Emperor was apparently cursing them out and calling them a coward and a weakling. The Chief responded by ordering the nearest tiger to be brought to the ship and then shot at the Emperor, even at the cost of the ship itself. The tiger survived due to crashing into the sails of the Chinese ship, the crew and Emperor did not.
    Carcer said:
    2 :Are you opposed to the fact that the tiger catapulted during this battle is a member of the semi-aquatic tiger species whose idea I presented to you on discord for approval?
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    No, I am not, but the details are a bit different as I had written this down some months ago but nobody asked again. : P
    Carcer said:
    3:Would you agree if the six legged flopa only resembled the normal floppa thanks to a parallel evolution rather than thanks to a connection between the two?
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    The Floppa's basically non-canon anyways, so I won't mind.
     
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    Fur, Feather, Fin - Six-Legged Floppa - (Non-Canon)
  • Sidestory


    • ​


    Six-Legged Floppa​


    ​
    Description:
    The Six-Legged Floppa is a slender, moderately large sized cat characterised by a robust build, a short face, long canine teeth, tufted ears, and being the only mammal with six legs wich are long . It reaches 60–70cm at the shoulder. The tan,striped bushy tail extends to the ground. The Six-Legged Floppa is sexually dimorphic; the females are smaller than the males in most bodily parameters.

    The prominent facial features include the 6-7-cm-long black tufts on the ears, two black stripes from the forehead to the nose, the black outline of the mouth, the distinctive black facial markings, and the white patches surrounding the eyes and the mouth. The eyes appear to be narrowly open due to the lowered upper eyelid, probably an adaptation to shield the eyes from the sun's glare. The ear tufts may start drooping as the animal ages. The coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy with tiger like stripes varying from black to dark brown and dark sand, though black Six-Legged Floppa are also known. The underbelly and the insides of the legs are lighter, often with small reddish markings. The fur, soft, short, and dense, grows coarser in the summer. The ground hairs (the basal layer of hair covering the coat) are denser in winter than in summer. The length of the guard hairs (the hair extending above the ground hairs) can be up to 5 cm long in winter, but shorten to 2 cm in summer. These features indicate the onset of moulting in the hot season, typically in October and November. The hind legs and middle legs are longer than the forelegs, so the body appears to be sloping downward from the rump.

    Male Six-Legged Floppa measure in head-to-body length 98–128 cm and have 65–77 cm long tails;a studies done on a sample 77 male Six-Legged Floppa ranged their weight between 8.2 and 27 kg . The head-to-body length of females is 91–123 cm with a tail of 57–68 cm ;the same study as above but donne on 63 females ranged their weight between 7.9 and 21.9 kg .

    The skull of the Six-Legged Floppa is high and rounded, featuring large auditory bullae, a well-developed supraoccipital crest normal to the sagittal crest, and a strong lower jaw. The Six-Legged Floppa has a total of 30 teeth; the dental formula is 3.1.3.1/3.1.2.1. The deciduous dentition is 3.1.2/3.1.2. The canines are up to 5.2 cm long and sharp. The Six-Legged Floppa lacks the second upper premolars, and the upper molars are diminutive. The large paws have four digits in the hind and middle legs and five in the fore legs. The first digit of the fore leg remains above the ground and features the dewclaw. The sharp and retractile claws are larger but less curved in the hind legs.

    Life cycle:
    Both sexes become sexually mature by the time they are a year old; production of gametes begins even earlier at seven to ten months. However, first successful mating takes place only at 12 to 15 months. Breeding takes place throughout the year. Oestrus, one to three days long, recurs every two weeks unless the female is pregnant. Females in oestrus show a spike in urine-marking, and form temporary pairs with males. Mating has not been extensively studied; a limited number of observations suggest that the female typically mates with several males over the course of a number of days. In some areas, males have been observed to fight aggressively for access to females and to remain with one for several days to guard against rivals; in others, they appear to be less protective. Copulation can last from ninety seconds to ten minutes with four minutes as the average, it begins with the male smelling the areas urine-marked by the female, which then rolls on the ground. Following this, the male approaches and mounts the female. The pair separate after copulation.

    Gestation lasts about two to three months, following which a litter consisting of one to six kittens is born. Births generally peak from October to February. Births take place in dense vegetation or deserted burrows. Kittens are born with their eyes and ears shut and the claws not retractable (unable to be drawn inside); the coat resembles that of adults, but the abdomen is spotted. Eyes open by ten days, but it takes longer for the vision to become normal. The ears become erect and the claws become retractable by the third or the fourth week. Around the same time, the kittens start roaming their birthplace, and start playing among themselves by the fifth or the sixth week. They begin taking solid food around the same time; they have to wait for nearly three months before they make their first kill. As the kittens start moving about by themselves, the mother starts shifting them every day. All the milk teeth appear in 50 days, and permanent dentition is completed in 10 months. Juveniles begin dispersing at nine to ten months, though a few females stay back with their mothers. The average lifespan of the caracal in captivity is nearly 16 years.

    Six-Legged Floppa have been seen spontaneously mated with other kinds of felines , resulting in a felid hybrid offspring,this is mostly seen in captivity when no ther six-legged floppa is avilable for reproduction.

    Its life expectancy in the wild is 12 years, and 17 years in captivity.

    Senses:
    Six-Legged Floppa use a lot their superb hearing to survive. Hunting over vast open distances, it is essential that they be able to hear the squeaks and chirps of their prey so they know which direction to go,they uses 20 muscles – in three distinct groups – to independently control each of their large tufted ears. They act as super sensitive parabolic sound antennas, and the long tufts at the tips are thought to enhance their hearing by funneling sounds into the ears.

    The pupils of a caracal's eyes contract to form circles rather than the slits found in most small cats.
    They also have excellent vision day and night with one particularity, the color of their eyes varies from dark blood red to golden yellow.

    Habitats/routine:
    The six-legged floppa is typically nocturnal, though some activity may be observed during the day as well. However, the cat is so secretive,stealthy and difficult to observe that if he don't want to be noticed then its activity at daytime are realy hard to notice and can be easily go unnoticed and his night activity are worst. A study showed that six-legged floppa are most active when the air temperature drops below 20 °C ; activity typically ceases at higher temperatures. A solitary cat, the six-legged floppa mainly occurs alone or in pairs; the only groups seen are of mothers with their offspring and hunting groups which form spontaneously during periods of severe famine where they will group together to increase their chance of capturing prey and will separate as soon as the famine is over. Females in oestrus temporarily pair with males. A territorial animal, the six-legged floppa marks rocks and vegetation in its territory with urine and often with dung, which is not covered with soil. Claw scratching is prominent, and dung middens are typically not formed. Males are found to have territories averaging 22 km2 , while that of females averaged 5,7 km2. The male territories vary from 19-220 km2, the females teritory vary between 5 and 57 km2 . These territories overlap extensively. The conspicuous ear tufts and the facial markings often serve as a method of visual communication; caracals have been observed interacting with each other by moving the head from side to side so that the tufts flicker rapidly. Like other cats, the caracal meows, growls, hisses, spits, and purrs.

    Its chief habitat is dry steppes and semideserts, but it also inhabits woodlands, savannah, and scrub forest. They generally prefer open country, so long as there is sufficient cover, in the form of bushes and rocks, from which to ambush prey,although very rugged regions which allow them to deploy all the efficiency of their six legs in climbing and jumping are also very appreciated.

    The six legged floppa is unique to Guangchou.

    Predators:
    where the threats to Six-Legged Floppa populations vary in extent.Beyond rare diseases,fighting another predator,getting crushed by a too large prey and acident the greatest danger for the life of a Six-Legged Floppa is human.
    Majorly getting killed by herders in retaliation for livestock losses. Guarding techniques and sheds are inadequate to protect small livestock like goats and sheep from being attacked by predators as agile as them. Additionally heavy-traffic roads crossing caracal habitat pose a potential threat for the species,some poaching also happen the unique appearance of the animal making it highly prized as a pet and trophy especialy .

    Food:
    A carnivore, the Six-Legged Floppa typically preys upon small mammals and birds,althought if a weak prey is spotted something larger will be devoured without hesitation, like almost all carnivores, they are opportunistic predators and scavengers . Mammals generally comprise at least 80% of its diet, and it may also target larger antelopes . The remaining percentage is made up of lizards, snakes and insects. Rodents comprise a significant portion of its diet in some part of the country. It feeds on a variety of sources, but tend to focus on the most abundant one.They have been documented preying on small livestock during time of despair in areas where sheep and goat are farmed. Livestock is however only a small and seasonal portion of their diet when wild prey is scarce. Occasionally, it consumes grasses and grapes, which help to clear the immune system and stomach of any parasites.

    The Six-Legged Floppa speed and agility make it an efficient hunter, able to take down prey two to three times its size. It is best known for its spectacular skill at hunting birds, able to snatch a bird in flight sometimes more than one at a time,thanks to his hind and middle legs wich allow it to leap more than 6 m in the air. It can jump and climb exceptionally well, which enables it to catch mountain prey better than probably any other carnivore. If no cover is available in which to conceal itself, a caracal may flatten itself against the ground and remain motionless, allowing its coat colour to act as camouflage. to catch birds on the wing. It can even twist and change its direction mid-air. It is an if not the best climbing mammal in the world thanks to its 6 legs. It stalks its prey until it is within 10 m , following which it can launch into a sprint or a leap. While large prey such as antelopes are suffocated by a throat bite, smaller prey are killed by a bite on the back of the neck. Kills are consumed immediately, and less commonly dragged to cover. It returns to large kills if undisturbed. It has been observed to begin feeding on antelope kills at the hind parts. It may scavenge at times, though this has not been frequently observed.

    The Six-Legged Floppa may survive without drinking for a long period — the water demand is satisfied with the body fluids of its prey.

    Interesting anecdotes:
    His scientific name "sex pedibus fabula" who traduce in "six legged myth"comes from the fact that scientists searched for several decades before having conclusive proof of its existence and several more (totaling 120 years) before finally capturing individuals and finding a population to study,the reason for this relentlessness (to the great hilarity of the locals who knew where to find them and in advice as pets sometimes but said nothing to avoid wasting good entertainment, so as not to disappoint the researcher who seemed so determined to have pierced the mystery themselves and because many of these scientists and adventurers were huge condescending assholes) is the strong and persistent presence of legends about them in a large part of Asia, giving them an aura of mystery and magnificence, effectively advancing them in the search for floppa was followed internationally with a certain interest.

    Unlike all the other vertebrates which descend from the Tiktaalik the six legged floppa would descend from another species of poison which would have come out of the sea and which would have had six swimmers rather than the four from the Tiktaalik this poison would have over hundreds of millions of years evolved in one of the most incredible cases of convergent evolution to become something very, very close to other mammals to the point of being very often classified with them.

    An ancient legend spread throughout Asia says that thousands of years ago a duo of mischievious caracals annoyed a goddess (her name varies depending on the version of the legend), they played prank after prank on her for weeks before finally after an ear full of sap she didn't catch them anymore, she was furious she took one by the tail to slap the other, she started again several times and with so much force due to anger and lack of control due to 6 days without sleeping as the two fusinated together in a strange six legged animal she found the idea amusing and decided that as a final punishment she would made sure that this would breed through in their offspring,joke on her the legend say that she failed to account that this would result in their mischiev to be squared and not merely doubled the two caracal now only one decided that this new form pleased him and continued his prank a little before leaving found a place to live, this resulted in very numerous cultures of Asia having among their pantheon a pranking six-legged feline divinity who resides on a mysterious series of islands called guangchou by the locals themselves very strange.
    This would have greatly contributed to Guangchou's very unique reputation.

    Due to its unique evolution, the flopa is genetically quite different from other mammals, making disease transmission extremely rare.

    Archaeologists from all over the world seem to want to start excavations on Guangchou, the idea of being the first to find the fossil of a new branch of life seems very enticing.

    It is a fairly domesticable animal although requiring a certain adaptation, they are very playful and cuddly if they like you or are even neutral towards you but they ostensibly ignore those they do not like slightly but have not harmed them, on the other hand, they are completely unlivable with those they really don't like and they have a very long memory.



    HeroCooky

    :I hope I did something that met your expectations.
    Is it good?

    I would be happy to hear any constructive critisism or modification suggestion if i missed something or got it wrong.
    Any thoughts ?
     
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  • Sidestory
    • Getting some sort of Ministry of the Ecology would pair very nicely with the national zoning plan, since the ecological surveys could start right away and we'd be less likely to develop an area that later turns out me me ecologically significant.
     
    CyberFemme said:
    Getting some sort of Ministry of the Ecology would pair very nicely with the national zoning plan, since the ecological surveys could start right away and we'd be less likely to develop an area that later turns out me me ecologically significant.
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    This is the already existing action for ecology:
    "--[] Create a Commission for the Upkeep and Conservation of Guangchou's Natural Spaces and Habitats for the Worker's Health and Enjoyment (Helpful) (-1 Reputation) (+1 People's Opinion)"

    But maybe this :
    "--[] Create a Ministry of the Ecology and Environmental Protection for the Upkeep and Conservation of Guangchou's Natural Spaces,ecosystem, Habitats and the reduction of pollution of all types wherever possible for the Worker's Health and Enjoyment and the long-term good of the country and the world"

    Might be better ?
    I m not sure if there is a way to word it better or if i forgot something
     

    @HeroCooky

    i choose this:
    "--[] Create a Ministry of the Ecology and Environmental Protection for the Upkeep and Conservation of Guangchou's Natural Spaces,ecosystem, Habitats and the reduction of pollution of all types wherever possible for the Worker's Health and Enjoyment and the long-term good of the country and the world"
    If you thought of a better formulation, more complete, useful or other I would be happy to move on to that.

    edit:
    [X] creating :"Ministry of the Ecology and Environmental Protection for the Upkeep and Conservation of Guangchou's Natural Spaces, Ecosystem, Habitats and the Reduction of Pollution of All Types Wherever Practicable for the Worker's Health and Enjoyment and the Long-Term Good of the Country and the World"
     
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