fallingsatellive · 8 months ago
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Hi bird therians! I'd like to present the following list of definitions of avian terminology; instincts and anatomy. Specifically, terms for things that many birdkin may already be aware of due to their own shifts, but not know the word for or even that it's a real and normal thing. Why do I make that assumption? Because my own mind was blown every time I discovered one of these words, the way things I would do or phantom parts I would feel suddenly made sense. So I hope to induce the same reaction in at least someone.
Behaviors
Mantling is mostly a bird of prey thing, the action of leaning over a kill and shielding the spoils with your wings so as to defend it from thieves. I can do no better of a description than a photo, included at the bottom of this post and for raptors it will probably spark recognition.
Rousing is the word for that "slowly fluff up the feathers and then shake the whole body" thing that birds do. Yes, it does have a name! Birds do it when relaxed or just chilly. It is not a threat display. I experience this as like an near-involuntary action -- like scratching an itch or sneezing -- and because I'm not actually raising physical feathers it feels kind of like shivering. But it sort of feels frustrating that I can't seem to achieve it. Like when a sneeze goes away.
Feather-plucking (pterotillomania) is a maladaptive habit birds in captivity develop when they are stressed. You see it most often with parrots, because they're kept as pets more than other birds and are also extremely intelligent so more easily understimulated. Sometimes this does feel like being a bird in captivity and a lot of you might experience this instinct without knowing what it is your brain's asking to do because you have no feathers. Calling it pterotillomania is helpful to me because I have actual dermotillomania and if my body had feathers I'd be plucking them.
Anatomy
Nictitating membrane. Starting with this because you may already know it by now. The third eyelid of birds, translucent, drawn sideways across the eye so that you can keep it moist while still being able to see. Also, as you may know, relevant to cat therians!
Crop. Part of the digestive tract of a bird in the throat where food is temporarily stored before being digested. If you had these shifts it would feel like, according to Wikipedia, basically an enlarged portion of the esophagus.
Keel. An extension of the sternum, the structure to which flight muscles are attached. If you had these shifts it would feel like a thin bone going beneath (or I guess on a humanoid body plan, in front of) your ribcage.
Cloaca. In the interest of not having to mark this post mature, I will not define or describe this one. I encourage you to look it up. Mammals are already working to reduce the stigma surrounding these types of shifts and instincts; we can do the same. There is no shame in it. You're a bird and birds have these. Accept it.
Birds do have sensation in our beaks. There are nerve endings in the beak. Not as much as, say, human skin, but yes, birds can feel touch on their beaks. If you can feel your beak, great! That is anatomically correct, and it certainly does not make you fake!
And now for your enjoyment, a mantling eagle:
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facts-i-just-made-up · 1 year ago
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*smacks your door open like Shrek* FACTS ABOUT VULTURES, BRO?
A… VULTURE is a raptor across the world adapted to feed on diverse creatures once dead. They can snack on carrion pausing from aviation to shine as pinnacle symbols of dread.
Well, these birds barf acid and they digest rapid, Circling a carcass even 'fore it goes flaccid. But some will kill lambs just to eat their bones, they scoop 'em up live and they drop 'em on stones.
Some have bald heads, some fly in fleets, Some cool off by pissing on their feet. Their stomach acid kills most disease, As digitigrades they have funky knees.
Condor- That's a Vulture, They're endangered, must breed. Bearded- That's a Vulture, They digest bones to feed. There's species in new world and old, They have feathers to protect from the cold.
In some legends, they can play the grim reaper. Then in others, they can be your soul's keeper. To Aztecs they meant rejuvenation, In the Ramayana one had earned much veneration. Some can use tools like rocks to break shells, some can hunt well only using just smell, some will dye their feathers with red blood, without them most ecologies would go thud.
Turkey- That's a Vulture, Turkey Vultures, I mean. Buzzard- That's a Vulture, They're endemic to Crete. A feeding group is called a "wake," then when they're in flight, a "kettle" they make.
(Musical interlude and wet Vulture eating sounds sample)
Hooded- That's a Vulture, They can nest in palm trees. Griffon- That's a Vulture, They're big on Halloween. Dress as vultures to impress your friends, They'll all miss the bird jokes when holidays end…
Some vultures lack notes- There's no organ in their throats that can make a chirp or caw or a squeak. But, if they were to quote, they would probly rather eat a goat, that was already minced for their beak.
So, that's a vulture, that's their avian culture. Immortalized in paintings and immortalized in sculpture. They're pretty cool birds and they sure look neat, especially when dripping with rotting meat. So help conserve and leave them be, and adore them if they're in a tree. Accipitridae or Cathartidae, Enjoy them all and look at them fly!
White-Rump, that's a Vulture, it is named for its butt. Palm-nut, that's a Vulture, it can feed on mollusks. So that's all about this fine bird. Go and fact check everything that you've just heard. Yes, that's all about this great bird. No go write about them, you absolute nerd.
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raptorladylover6969 · 5 months ago
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ough idk if its the artist in me talking, but I am for some reason OBSESSED with Raptor Lady’s side profile like her overall bone structure is so scrumptious and fits her character so wellllll cuz like she doesnt have a soft feminine face its more masculine and sharp, and drawing her can be kind of a challenge because I am more used to drawing like chubby cheeks and soft features, but Raptor Lady is like the complete opposite. S tier design frfr lemme just gnaw and chew and consume and digest her character design
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carionto · 11 months ago
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So, dinosaurs are a bust, BUT we got the next best thing
Part 1 2 3 4 (and extra)
The "dinosaur" """science""" station around the planet Ramforinkus is facing an existential crisis:
The dinosaurs they engineer keep dying on the planet that likes to set itself on fire all the time. Go figure.
And they are trying. Everie Jackobson, Henrietta Kostoyeva, and Gieverne de la Roquohe (everything after Ro is silent, obviously) will never give up on their dreams of... I'm actually not sure what they're actually aiming for anymore. It's become almost like a fever, this urge, this need to have dinosaurs as seen in Jurassic Park on a planet that is absolutely hostile to pretty much all living things except the very peculiar ferns, moss, algae, and fungi that coexist in this strange symbiotic cycle of conflagration.
Their latest solution?
Cybernetics.
Yup. Robo-dinosaurs.
If the flesh can't survive, metal will. They still want biological things in there, or it won't be a "real dinosaur" whatever importance that has at this stage.
But there's no fauna on the planet for them to hunt and eat, and there's no point to making a Dinosaur Planet if you can't have a goddamn TYRANNOSAURUS REX running around eating people. I mean, other dinosaurs. Whatever.
The solution? Make them able to digest metal that the cybernetic herbivore dinosaurs will be made of. Can't be solving self-inflicted problems without creating boatloads of additional work that will result in other problems that themselves will need extensive and complicated solutions, which in turn will continue the cycle forever.
Hmm?
Why are they adding guns to the carnivorous dinosaurs now?
Well, the cybernetically enhanced herbivores are a lot faster and more durable than their pure organic counterparts, so O B V I O U S L Y you need to compensate and balance things out.
But oh no, the weapon discharges are catching the planet on fire more frequently and reducing the herbivore's food sources dramatically, who could have predicted this, I wonder.
Aaaaand now some of the herbivores are salvaging the ranged weapons off of the occasional dead carnivore and gearing themselves up, so now the raptors need better defensive capabilities and stealth tech to even get close to their prey.
Yeah, go for it, that certainly won't cause more problems. Do a mecha-dinosaur arms race, these three """"""scientists"""""" are really putting their brilliant minds to good use over here. Well done.
...and now the dinosaurs are putting their differences aside and planning a rebellion against the evil sky wizard tower.
And you know what the three stooges are thinking?
Guess.
.
.
.
Wrong (unless you did guess this next part).
"I wonder how long until they develop their own space program and join us as a Galactic civilization? I can't wait! Dinosaurs in Space!!!"
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local-diavolo-anon · 1 year ago
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thinking about some scene from my Prehistoric Mermen AU because i like brainstorming worldbuilding and random stuff
Y/N would probably be asked to send long reports on what they found to be edible for human and what wasn't, how they examined it, how accurate the examination was and how it has been prepared
time traveler scientists always had rations with them and were intructed not to eat anything from the geological era they were sent into because of of risk of food poisoning or straight up eating shit that they can't digest
Y/N had rations as well but those ran out after one week or two since they were not made for stops longer than a few days (again for safety reasons, you have no idea what might be lurking in the shadows of a prehistoric jungle or what illnesses dinosaurs got that never survived until our days)
so once those rations ran out Y/n had to rely on their inboard analyzer to individually separate the chemical components of plants and animals to determine what they could have eaten and what was going to kill them instantly
most of the food they found to be edible was probably sea food, and not because they might particularly enjoy it but rather because going into the forest was not an option and Sun and Moon absolutely bombarding their ass with extra food to make sure their weird land friend didn't starve
(and also because sharing food is a sign of affection among predators; Y/n knows this but things Sun and Moon just see them as a weirdly shaped possible mate, like ostriches do in their era with humans)
Probably all of Y/N reports are a bit chaotic, especially the videos
Some videos that they sent slong with written reports include:
Them screaming maniacally that they managed to find something akin to potatoes and that made them "unstoppable" (they weren't properly potatoes an tastes slightly more sour, but still acceptable)
Extremely out of focus clip of them dancing on the beach with a piece of salt they managed to make by drying sea water
Several harpoon hunting videos where all you can hear is them cursing at some smaller predator stealing their catches constantly
A Few videos of them screamind directly at other creatures like calling 'bitch ass motherfucker' a raptor that showed up, stole their blanket, ripped it to shreds and chased them until they were on top of a tree
first person video of them playing dodgeball in the sea with Sun and Moon using a poor ammonite
First person video of them chasing away a flock of small pterosauruses after the little asses started stealing their food like seagulls
But the reports on their diet always look the funniest because they took the iron as it was hot and beat the shit out of it, so now each video looks like a youtube mukbang; full on table with food displayed in front of them and camera as they describe what everything tastes like
sometimes Sun join them on their improvised table by the beach and snatches a bite because everything smells good, but only Sun because Moon can't stay on land (too big)
Moon however is sometimes visible in the background splashing around in the deeper ocean where he hunts
in a video or two he is probably visible straight out jumping out of the water to snatch pterosauruses fresh out of the air, having hands is a big advantage when your natural competitors only have their mouth
Y/N has many other logs and videos of things they did or accomplished, but some of them were supposed to be about other things and suddently stuff happened
like a video of them trying to fish and see what worked as a bait and what didn't, and then Moon drops a full ass squid by their side (it was later identified as a Tusoteuthis and luckily safe for them to eat)
as a conclusion: Y/N sending back home to their friends and colleagues chaotic videos of them having a blast with their prehistoric reptile friend
Y/n making a log diary of everything they did with Sun and Moon so they can remember them when and if they have/can to go back home
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supremebirdbracket · 2 years ago
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General Vulture Fun Facts
Just to share some more love!
Vultures in general
Vultures are critically important to keeping an ecosystem healthy by cleaning up carcasses and preventing the spread of disease. They have incredibly acidic stomachs with a pH of about 1, causing them to be able to digest diseases including rabies and anthrax. Through eating carrion, they destroy harmful bacteria found in rotting meat.
Vultures are a major conservation concern. Of the 23 species of vultures, 9 are critically endangered, 2 are endangered, 2 are vulnerable, 3 are near threatened, and 7 are least concern.
Most vultures have featherless necks and heads. This is partially to help them stay clean when they feed by reaching their heads into carcasses; with bald heads, they can more efficiently clean their heads and the sun can bake off detritus more easily. This adaptation also helps them regulate their temperatures.
Old World and New World vultures are only superficially similar in filling similar ecological niches. I'll go into more depth below!
Old World Vultures
Old World vultures are members of the order Accipitiformes and family Accipitridae, which includes hawks and eagles. Many of these vultures are no more closely related to one another than they are to other members of Accipitridae.
They can be generally divided into two major clades, Aegypiinae (cinereous, red-headed, lappet-faced, white-headed, hooded, and all Gyps vultures) and Gypaetinae (bearded, palm-nut, and Egyptian vultures).
While some New World vulture species forage using their sense of smell, Old World vultures have poor senses of smell and find food exclusively via sight.
Many Gyps vultures are known as griffon vultures in at least one of their common names (G. fulvus, Eurasian griffon vulture; G. coprotheres, cape griffon; G. rueppelli, Rüppell's griffon vulture; G. himalayensis, Himalayan griffon vulture).
Most Old World vulture species are of conservation concern. The most dramatic declines are in Asia due to accidental poisoning by diclofenac, a problem known as the Indian Vulture Crisis. It is caused by cattle being treated with the drug diclofenac; when these cattle die they are consumed by vultures, but diclofenac causes fatal kidney failure in vultures. This crisis largely affects Gyps and red-headed vultures and has caused a 99% decrease in Indian vulture populations since about 1990. Major declines in Africa are caused by poaching and intentional poisoning.
In ancient Egypt, vultures were associated with purity and motherhood as well as the cycle of death and rebirth.
New World Vultures
New World vultures are placed in the family Cathartidae, but nobody can agree where to put Cathartidae. It was originally in the order Falconiformes. It was then moved to the order Ciconiiformes (storks and herons) due to erroneous studies but later removed. New World vultures are now considered to be most closely related to Accipitriformes raptors, and Cathartidae may now be placed in Accipitriformes with the Old World vultures, or in its own closely-related order Cathartiformes.
These vultures can be generally grouped into two clades, one consisting of the black vulture and the Cathartes vultures, and the other including the king vulture and both species of condor.
New World vultures do not posses a syrinx (bird voice box), and so can only hiss and grunt as vocalizations.
Cathartes vultures, meaning the turkey vulture and both yellow-headed vultures, are some of the few birds to have a good sense of smell. This sense makes them the most efficient birds at finding carrion.
Black and king vultures as well as condors will follow Cathartes vultures to carcasses, where they generally tend to dominate. Condors and king vultures are larger than Cathartes vultures, while black vultures are more aggressive. However, these larger vultures are needed to tear open tough carcasses. Therefore, large vultures and Cathartes vultures rely on one another to effectively access food.
New World vultures do not build nests but rather lay their eggs directly on bare surfaces such as cliff ledges.
They cool off via urohidrosis, or urinating on their legs. They cool off as the waste evaporates, similar to how humans cool off as sweat evaporates. This process also kills bacteria accumulated on the legs at carcasses.
King and black vultures are often found depicted in Mayan codices. The king vulture is considered a divine messenger and used to depict the thirteenth day of the month, while the black vulture is associated with death and aggression.
New World vultures may vomit when threatened in order to distract the threat and to lighten themselves enough to take off quickly.
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a-dinosaur-a-day · 2 years ago
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Daurlong vs Natovenator
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Factfiles:
Daurlong wangi
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Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @i-draws-dinosaurs
Meaning: Wang’s Daur dragon (named for the Daur people of Northeast China)
Time: 121 million years ago (Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous)
Location: Longjiang Formation, Inner Mongolia, China
Daurlong was described in 2022, from a stunningly beautiful fossil that includes the entire body, crushed flat by pressure, and a whole lot of soft tissues like feathers along the back of the neck and even the shape of the intestines! Any part of the digestive system is extremely rare to find in fossils, so Daurlong provides an important glimpse into how the digestive systems of birdlike dinosaurs compare to living dinosaurs today!
Turns out, despite being closely related to the ancestors of modern birds Daurlong’s guts were pretty similar to other, much more distant theropods like Scipionyx instead. That helps fill in a pretty big gap in our knowledge of how the bird digestive system evolved, making this a very scientifically valuable fossil!
That, and it’s just adorable. Look at that lil smiley face!
Natovenator polydontus
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Artwork by Yusik Choi, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Many toothed swimming hunter 
Time: 71 million years ago (Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous) 
Location: Hermiin Tsav, Barun Goyot Formation, Ömnögovi, Mongolia 
Back in my day, we famously said dinosaurs weren’t aquatic or volant, apart from birds that fit the bill. Fortunately, my childhood is over, and we have both flighted and aquatic nonavians - Natovenator being the next iteration in this strange new reality. Like its cousin Halszkaraptor, Natovenator was a semiaquatic raptor, adapted for moving through the water, potentially with wing flippers to do so. It had a long snout with many teeth adapted for grabbing aquatic life, and it had a long neck similar to modern day diving birds to help it catch prey. It had a streamlined body, allowing it to dive and move through the water efficiently. The long snout was not spatulate, but did curve upward a bit, giving it a vaguely-duck like appearance. The small pointed teeth would have been excellent for grabbing on to struggling fish. Living in the Barun Goyot, a desert ecosystem, Natovenator probably congregated around steady sources of water, such as periodic lakes and oases like those found in modern deserts today. Many mammals are known from the ecosystem, but the real standout stars are dinosaurs: Natoveantor shared its habitat with Ceratonykus, Saichania, Tarchia, Zaraapelta, Gobipipus, Gobipteryx, Hollanda, Bagaceratops, other dromaeosaurs, Conchoraptor, Heyuannia, and unnamed sauropods known only from eggs. Appearing after the Djadokhta and preceding the Nemegt, this environment was a transitional one from the Campanian of Asia to the Maastrichtian, as the environment became more diverse and filled with truly insane numbers of dinosaurs as the period reached its end.
DMM Round One Masterpost
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siravalon · 4 months ago
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Vulture Facts!
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Did you know? Old world and new world vultures do not share a common ancestor, in fact old world vultures are believed to share a common ancestor with hawks and other raptors, and new world vultures are more closely related to storks and cranes. So why do they look similar? Convergent evolution! Convergent evolution is what happens when two separate species from separate ancestors evolve similar traits to fit similar niches and survive similar factors in their environment. An example would be dolphins, who share a similar body structure to sharks, despite being mammals.
Some Examples of Old World Vultures:
- Egyptian Vultures
- Bearded Vultures/Lammergeier
- Cinereous Vultures
- Palm Nut Vultures
- Lappet Faced Vultures
- Griffon Vultures
- Hooded Vultures
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Some Examples of New World Vultures:
- Turkey Vultures
- Black Vultures
- California Condors
- King Vultures
-Andean Condors
- White Backed Vultures
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Emetophobia Trigger Warning ‼️
A vulture’s stomach acid is the most powerful of any bird, or animal for that matter. This allows them to digest carcasses, killing off any diseases that they may carry. For this very reason, vultures are essential to ecosystems, as they play an important role in the prevention of disease outbreaks. A bearded vulture has the ability to consume and digest bones, gaining sustenance from the marrow within them.
As a defense mechanism, many vultures will vomit on the perceived threat.
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A palm-nut vulture is a unique kind of old world vulture that feeds on fruits, seeds, nuts, fish, and fruit husks. Like many old world vultures, they can be found throughout Africa, in savannas and wooded areas.
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brainrotgoverner · 2 months ago
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How would you portray each storm hawk personally, theor personality ect.
I am literally salivating at the mouth at the question rn 💞 OKEY SO, I am going to try to keep it short cuz if I tried to put every single thought I have of Storm Hawks down I would probably pass the non-existent word limit XD these are just my headcanons tho lol
Aerrow: He is under a lot of pressure to unite the kingdoms and finally bring peace to all of Atmos to the point he let his role as the sky knight of the Storm Hawks consume his personality. Finn has his guitar, Junko has his scrap but all Aerrow has is his training (and occasional air surfing) he lets himself have fun, but it's generally for the sake of his teammates. Don't get me wrong he is an amazing leader and even a better warrior but that's all he ever lets himself be while Atmos is still threatened by the Cyclonians. He is an ridiculously brave adrenalin addict with a good heart that, in the end of the day, wants both Atmos and Cyclonia to have their good ending.
Piper: Curious and ever-questioning by nature. She is almost obsessive with her crystal work and willing to lose countless hours of sleep for it. She is clever, understandably strict and can be snobbish at times, especially in the presence of people she admires. She has a good heart and shares Aerrow sentiment for both sides of the war to have their good ending.
Finn: He has an inflated ego, a wild imagination and hyperactive tendencies. Despite his arrogant and sometimes cowardly behavior, he is competent. He enjoys annoying Piper and getting up to mischief with Junko, but at the end of the day, his antics are harmless and he knows to own up to something he actually messed up in (like the episode where Aerrow broke all the bones in his body)
Junko: He has no self confidence, despite his feats, and relies on Finn to hype him up. Despite being in front lines of war, he hates conflict and fights between his friends and generally doesn't know how to behave when it's directed at him. He is actually an amazing cook, the only problem is wallop food can't really be digested by humans.
Stork: Two words. Anxiety and trauma. He is generally cowardly and avoids facing the enemy outside of his safe space that is the Condor. He is erratic and his behavior gets unpredictable outside of Condor (like when he ate a crystal and got stuck with a raptor) he is an amazing plot, shown by the fact he can keep the older-than-100-years and falling apart Condor up, running and even winning against Cyclonia. I genuinely believe Condor wouldn't last a week without him to be her life support.
Radarr: The team pet that hates being called that. I have nothing bad to say about him. Perfection personified. Third best character in the show. I am very very biased about cute animals. He is brave, competent and knows how to keep a falling apart skimmer afloot. Rebuild a rusty old skimmer. Let him fly the Condor. I love him.
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dailydemonspotlight · 4 months ago
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Camazotz - Day 63
Race: Raptor
ATMA Avatar of Bat
Alignment: Dark-Law
July 3rd, 2024
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I've been playing Digital Devil Saga lately, and combined with my erratic mood swings, what else would be more fitting for today's DDS than a blood-draining bat who leaves those in its wake feeling hollow? This also marks the second demon in a row to originate from South American mythology, though this one is its own can of worms- or, maybe, bucket of blood...? No, that's stupid. Regardless, though, today's Demon of the Day is a curious fellow originating from very specific Mayan cults, and a personal favorite of mine- Guatemala's own lord of the night, patron of giant vampire bats, and a terrifying blood-sucking deity, Camazotz!
A lot relating to Camazotz is hard to dig into, let alone digest- purportedly worshipped as a central deity in ancient Mayan culture, this great-winged bat appears scantly, yet its influence cannot go understated. This is made even more confusing by evident conflation between Camazotz and a completely different concept, that of 'The Camazotz,' a race of giant bats found in the underworld in the Polpol Vuh, a chronicle going into the creation myth of humanity itself in Mayan mythology. As is purported in it, the Camazotz weren't actually a single, unified deity, and instead were an entire separate race of giant bats found in the Mayan afterlife, known as Xibalba.
People also often purport that this race may have been a mythological explanation for the extinct, but then-present giant race of vampire bats called Desmodus draculae. This, of course, makes things a mite more complicated- the death bat may have been conflated with recollections regarding a completely separate bat god that is left unnamed, as there is evidence of worship to a single, unified bat deity in ancient Mayan culture. Camazotz itself is also purported as being a single, great bat spirit in the underworld, not quite a god but still immensely powerful in its own right. And, well, let's get into that.
The main appearance of the Camazotz comes in the Polpol Vuh, as is to be expected, and they have quite an interesting role- in one of the trials the two protagonists, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, have to survive during their expedition into Xibalba, they're challenged with staying the night in Zotzilaha- the House of Bats. The legend tells of how they had hid away within their blowguns to last the night, but eventually, perturbed by the lack of the wings flapping from the bats outside, one of the brothers dared to stick his head out. This is when Camazotz, who was watching, striked. In an instant, the brother was decapitated, and his head used as a ball for the deities to use in their next ballgame. As morbidly hilarious as this story is, it does give us some insight into Camazotz's role- as a spirit of the night, he clearly showed both trickery and strength.
Of course, this origin is hard to pinpoint, and I'm honestly unsure as to if there was a single Camazotz or an entire race of them who were attacking the brothers, as a lot of things surrounding this great vampire bat are frustratingly murky. Of course, as it comes down to a lot of the time with these demon spotlights, a lot is left up in the air due to the loss of primary sources through history, but with the connection to the long-dead Desmodus draculae species of vampire bats, it's possible to come to several interesting conclusions. There are even beliefs that the traditional blood sacrifices that the Mayans were known for were partly inspired by Camazotz, but that's a rabbit hole I'll leave you to dig into.
Now, as for how Camazotz is depicted in the series, the design has grown on me a lot. While originally seeming to just be a giant bat with sickles, the strange, wrapping hands, the ornaments, and the skulls all paint it in a uniquely Mayan light that I'm really quite fond of. Of course, it also appears in Digital Devil Saga, but frankly I'm not quite sure what to make of a lot of ATMA avatars, and Camazotz is no real exception. As much as I love DDS, the avatars definitely need to grow on me a bit more for me to really appreciate them.
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Overall, though, the design works wonders, and I really do enjoy it. Too bad the sprite compression in SMT IV makes it almost completely incomprehensible, but... well, alas, that's what happens to games on the 3DS.
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saturnniidae · 3 months ago
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I think smaller dragons like terrible terrors should cast pellets like birds. They eat a lot of stuff they can't fully digest so they just cough it up like a raptor
Larger dragons don't do this (with the exception of Nadders) but they do still have crops to store food so they can regurgitate it later :)
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punkedsolar · 3 months ago
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In New Petra, a harpy (plural harpies) is a half-human and half-bird, often believed to be a personification of storm winds or great disaster. They are slightly shorter than a human with smoke covered eyes, a raptorial body, and are gregarious.
Etymology The word 'Harpy' comes from ancient Greek and is pronounced similarly by New Petrans. It means 'snatchers'.
Taxonomy Harpia mythologia is the current designation in use in New Petra.
Description Harpies are sexually dimorphic, with larger, duller females and smaller brighter males. Both sexes have humanoid heads, and three-fingered hands on their wings with the rest of the body resembling a gigantic raptor. Eyes are assumed present but are not visible under a constant exudation of what appears to be smoke.
Female harpy eagles can be up to a 35% or higher difference in mean body mass. Harpies generally measure from 150 to 200cm in total length and have a wingspand of up to four meters. Hollow bones through most of the harpy have resulted in a very light creature. Mean talon size is roughly fifteen centimeters, though can be highly variable. Wings are comparably broad and short, for high manouverability in tight environments.
Males are greenish, with white throat and chest feathers and larger foreclaws that are used for grooming. They have heavily feathered legs, and a larger crest used for display. They frequently display towards females, and brighter colours usually result in higher mating success.
Females are tan or buff and have a developed chest ruff that sits across a bare skin patch which is used to brood eggs and maintain clutch temperature precisely.
The adults give a penetrating, melancholy scream, with the males' call described as 'whispy screaming or wailing'. The females' calls while incubating are similar, but are lower-pitched due to their larger size.
Distribution and habitat The harpy is found in the wilds outside New Petra. Occassional attempts to nest in the city are strongly repulsed by the citizens.
Behaviour and ecology Harpies have no set activity period, and spend most of their time immobile unless there is prey available. They are able to lower their metabolism to enter a light form of hibernation in order to conserve energy.
Harpies are gregarious and hunt in large flocks, but fight violently to get the largest share of the resulting food. They are hypercarnivores who consume no plant matter whatsoever. Hungry harpies are capable of eating and digesting bones. Harpies in prey rich environments will kill indiscriminately and are therefore targeted by most intelligent beings. Some of them become egg eaters, and may be killed by other harpies.
Harpies only engage in grooming for reproductive purposes - the male does so in order to extend their display feathers. They are considered to be the vector of several diseases that they themselves do not suffer from due to their ability to lower their body temperature in hibernation. Harpies are messy nesters who foul their own food and areas in droppings.
Reproduction is dependant on levels of prey available, resulting in between two and four eggs that require two months of brooding. Chicks are precocial, though will take two years to develop full flight, most of this being learned by themselves or through observation rather than by being taught. Fledging happens at six months, at which point the chick is capable of gliding, and must climb up to appropriate heights to launch in lieu of rising thermals.
Females and males form temporary mating bonds. Males feed females that are caring for eggs. Females will only raise young if they are being fed - should the male die or disappear, they will be forced to abandon their nest. If the prey population is crashing, nests are vulnerable to raiding, and harpies can become cannibalistic.
The purpose of the apparent smoking eyes is unknown at this time. Smoke exudes consistently whether eyes are open or closed.
Morphic ecology notes Harpies are not at this point thought to be morphic.
Social notes Harpies are not known to speak any language, communicating in guttural screams. New Petran researchers have not been able to discern words. While they are cooperative in hunting, they can be easily distracted with other offers of food. It is possible to train them, but their unsanitary nature and violent behaviour makes them rare pets. Eu kept a single harpy male and was able to get it to mimic Common speech accurately, but was unable to teach it to associate words with objects. They reported that the harpy, while an effective predator, should be considered less intelligent than higher order parrots.
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honey-minded-hivemind · 7 months ago
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Ooooooo, Pray tell, what are your thoughts for the DarkDinosquadAU?
Lamb Anon
Hi 🐑 Anon!! I'm glad to hear from you again!
Okay, so my idea for it goes something like this:
Reader, who was likely the member of the squad (the main AU one, with Scott, Rogue, Remy, and Pietro, plus Logan as their good raptor teacher), to struggle the most with accepting their situation and forging friendships withe everyone (a bit like Caruso, kinda, from the original show), ends up leaving for a bit. You know, the angry walk and rant about how they aren't okay or happy with what's going on... (It's in almost every 2000s kids heroes'tv shows...) Yet they end up caught, by scientists or hunters or someone who wants to pick apart their dinosaur form and more or less kill them to do so... Maybe Reader kept the teams secrets from them, or maybe Reader led them away from the team, so as to save or spare them... Either way...
Reader ends up hurt. The bad kind of hurt.
Maybe they had to fight a hunter. Maybe the scientists experimented on them. Or some strange mix of those options... Reader ends up rescued just in time by their team (plus one p*ssed-off Logan), and is taken back to their base/lighthouse...
Reader is taken care of while they're asleep (think Leonardo from TMNT after getting hurt, where they all went to the farm/barn...). They eventually wake up, and go through the process of getting back on their feet, but not without having a few heart-to-heart discussions with each team member, about how they don't hate them, they never did... they just were scared, of being rejected and about being a dinosaur and how they were the smallest/weakest member... And they all forgive each other, assure Reader, and life seems to move on...
Except a few weeks to about a month later, Reader starts to show symptoms of something.
They all think it's a small cold or fever at first. But it doesn't go away... They keep an eye on it, and while it doesn't affect their efforts on keeping the town safe from Victor, the more time that passes, the worse it gets. Ultimately, Reader starts coughing something up... Yet it isn't regular bile or vomit or puss or blood... It's... No one is sure what it is. It appears black, almost like oil or ink... yet it has the same viscosity of ink or bile... It's disturbing. Logan starts running tests, trying to figure out what the h*ll is going on, but it isn't any illness or poison that modern or ancient medicines know of. It's something new. And from what the tests point to... Reader is slowly being poisoned from the inside out. The substance, whatever it is, feeds off of them and whatever they digest/ingest, and keeps spreading to living tissues. It seems to destroy everything it touches, devouring it or rotting it, leaving behind the black residue...
So Reader only has a few months left.
Logan does what he can, but it doesn't change anything. Reader accepts what's happening to them, as that's the only thing they can do, they believe. And the others...?
When they find out that Logan has done all he can... they decide to turn to Victor. He's their enemy, yes. He wants to turn animals and humans and plants back to prehistoric times, yes. He's scary, dangerous, and could hurt them, yes. But he's their last option... So with that, they get in contact with him, without Reader's or Logan's knowledge, ready to try a new approach...
Reader does what they can to enjoy the time they have left, yet with each passing week, then each month, it only gets worse. Coughing up more and more of the black bile, growing weaker and pained... It hurts, what they're going through, but they'll try to stay for as long as they can.
One night, they start to feel worse, more drowsy and tired and sick... They ask if Logan can stay with them until it's over... He does.
Yet after a day, Reader is unresponsive...
They aren't dead, not yet, but he's staying by them until it's over, even if it takes months...
The others, who have spent the last few months secretly getting the help of Victor and trying to come to grips with the choice they've made, find them like that. They'd only been gone a day or so, giving a few samples of the residue to their new mentor/ally... And now Reader isn't waking up, and Logan isn't leaving them until they're gone. They try to say they have an idea, if he'll listen... Yet when they say who they think they should go to, who they should bring Reader to, he grows worried. Upset. Because he doesn't trust his brother, and he can't guarantee he'd help them, or even not betray them...
But they weren't going to take no for an answer... And out from the shadows comes his brother, the last person he thinks should be there. He tries to say something... but then he's fading out, a small sting in his shoulder...
Victor takes all of them in, and while he doesn't find a cure, he finds something to stave off the illness for the moment. Once it's given to Reader, they wake up in a few days...
And now they have to face the fact they're trapped, Logan is sedated, their friends aren't with them, and the last person- well, dinosaur- they want to be near is the one who's keeping them there... and taking care of them, all of them, for some reason...
(And this is where I'm at a crossroads as to what path to take. Also, Victor would never kill any of them or eat them or hurt them, but he's not letting Reader or Logan leave, and while he and the others are working together, he still doesn't plan to let them leave, either, should they change their minds... He wants to keep them all alive, happy, even... But it seems he has a few humans to get rid of... Starting with the one/s who almost killed one of his and his brother's nestlings...)
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seiko-yume · 2 years ago
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Bishop headcanons
This is a long post, so I'll cut it here for anyone who isn't interested.
EDIT: added Narinder since he's technically a bishop too, and I have a few more HCs for him that I didn't make during the time of the Narinder and Lamb HCs.
Leshy
Physical age is stuck in his early 20's
Absolutely minuscule in size compared to the other bishops and followers (Shorter than Heket and Lamb)
Likes to put his hands in a raptor formation
Hates being touched in any manner (ex: being pet, or picked up)
Experiences sensory overload more often than before becoming a follower due to his heightened sense of smell and hearing when he went blind.
Burrows underground when he feels discomfort, or on the verge of a meltdown.
Vegan, cannot digest meat or any animal food product.
Enjoys gardening, even though he can't see. He likes the different smells and textures of plants.
Extremely quick to resort to violence in disagreements with other followers.
Goes apeshit over rain (he really likes rain)
Heket
VERY subtly petty, and knows exactly what'll make you tick.
Can crack open an ostrich egg in one punch
Will absolutely hold her own on a crusade, without being turned into a demon.
Learned sign language from the Lamb, since speaking causes her pain.
Transgender MtF
Food-motivated, loves to cook. Developed from a famine-causing goddess to hating seeing any follower go hungry.
The only one in the Old Faith family without any kind of food allergy, or dietary restriction.
Heavyset build. Height is similar to Narinder's
Sleeps long hours, and is late to nearly every sermon.
Exclusively T4T due to bad experience with transphobic people.
Physical age is stuck at 25
Loves bathing and soaking in water.
Narinder
Middle child syndrome (gets forgotten by the other bishops, but is legally allowed to bonk them for it.)
While chained, his legs were broken to prevent him from escaping easily. They weren't able to heal correctly. He currently uses forearm crutches, or a cane to get around.
Second tallest next to Shamura
Very thin build from naturally high metabolism. Heket tries to feed him more, but his body just turns it all into pure rage instead of fat.
Demiboy. Uses both he/him and she/her pronouns.
Lactose intolerant, but eats dairy-based dessert anyways. Constantly has IBS from this and can fill an outhouse halfway. Followers beg him to stop eating dairy (he doesn't and earned the "Poopshitter" nickname from Lamb.)
Severe allergy to fish and shellfish.
Likes to do makeup, and is actually really artsy with it.
Had an emo phase (and still is)
Severe guilt and self-loathing around his siblings. Feelings of guilt are especially intense around Shamura. Shamura tries their best every day to show him that they forgive him.
Gets stuck in a tree at least twice a week
Kalamar
The most dramatic of cult drama-queens. There's a new crisis happening with him every week.
Got a septum piercing after learning he couldn't reattach his amputated (pierced) ears.
Refuses to learn sign language, despite being deaf. He's exceptionally well at reading lips, however.
Monologues about how handsome, and beautiful his temple was, usually to himself because he doesn't realize that other members had walked away.
Accidentally discovered Narinder had a deadly allergy to seafood while Nari was a kitten. (He had to babysit him, and fed him fish stew because he thought cats liked fish.)
Doesn't like to do assigned work in the cult, but enjoys forging weapons and jewelry.
Very picky eater. Almost everything makes him sick. No known food allergies, but is known to be intolerant to meat, fish, dairy, certain vegetables, mushrooms, most fruits, and bread. He usually eats cauliflower soup to stay on the safe side.
Had several near-death experiences due to illness as a child.
Very lithe and underweight. Tentacles give the illusion of being heavier than average.
Physical age is stuck at 33.
Shamura
Severe migraines and memory problems.
Tries to dissent against the Lamb due to often forgetting the entire chunk of their life from Narinder's betrayal to dying at the hands of the Lamb.
Has crying fits upon recalling parts of their life they forgot, and fears the next time they'll forget.
Clings to the other siblings, needing constant physical reassurance they're still alive. They're unable to sleep alone.
Had to re-learn basic motor skills including how to speak when they were first indoctrinated.
Knits and crochets in their spare time.
Likes to watch dance circles, but avoids any activity that might cause a migraine.
Allergic to camellia flowers. Avoids farming and seeking the medbay when sick.
Taller than Narinder (HC Narinder is the tallest member before his siblings were indoctrinated)
AFAB
Has always yearned to become a parent during the time they were a god, but could never bear any children due to being infertile. When they found several infant gods, they couldn’t help but take them under their wing.
Physical age is stuck at 40
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is-the-owl-video-cute · 2 years ago
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Owls digest things from the fur an bone? So what they pass or pellet is just the stripped down version? I thought pellets existed cause they couldn't digest that stuff
They can’t digest those things, but they do have a use! Bones, fur, scales, and feathers move around in the gizzard while the pellet is forming. While they move around, they clean fat and buildup off of the inner lining of the gizzard, and scrape it away from the proventriculus and esophagus as the pellet is brought up from the gizzard.
Without that buildup being removed, GI stasis can occur, especially as harmful bacteria colonizes the organ to feed on the material left behind. This is actually more common in diurnal raptors which form pellets with their crops and are prone to a condition called crop stasis or sour crop. Owls lack a crop, but can still run into issues from not investing fur and bone for a certain period of time. They’re just a bit more resistant.
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rebeccathenaturalist · 2 years ago
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Is feeding pigeons bad? I don't feed them from my hand, I just leave out food and they eat it all up. Other animals don't get to the food because I place it on my window and the pigeons heavily populate my street and finish it in minutes.
In a post you mentioned that having animals gather close to one another can cause easier spread of diseases.
I am just wondering if that also applies to pigeons considering that they are domestic and if there are more ethical ways I can feed them or if I just shouldn't at all.
@uselessfish - Good question! So, this is sort of a weird situation. Pigeons are technically a domestic version of the rock dove (Columba livia), sort of how the house cat is the domesticated version of the African wildcat (Felis lybica), so this isn't like feeding native wildlife. Nor is the pigeon strictly an invasive species since they are synanthropes that mostly (though not exclusively) stick to human-dominated areas. While there is likely some risk of pigeons spreading diseases to other birds simply through proximity, they aren't like European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) or house sparrows (Passer domesticus) that actively compete with native North American birds for nest sites and other resources. Most of the complaints about pigeons have to do with the fact that their feces ends up all over public places because, well, that's where a lot of them live. They can occasionally cause crop damage in rural areas and in those cases I can understand control methods being brought into case, but urban pigeons don't really seem to be hurting much of anyone. Plus they are a nice reminder that nature persists in spite of our urbanization.
To be honest I feel bad for pigeons because we domesticated them and then when we no longer needed them we basically abandoned them. People will spend scads of money feeding feral outdoor cats that, even when neutered or spayed, decimate native wildlife for the remainder of their lifespans. But pigeons? Pigeons get kicked, chased away, treated like the scum of the earth, even by people who claim to love animals. They're more than just "rats with wings", and I think they deserve a P.R. boost.
Also, in recent years native species of falcon, hawk and other raptors in urban areas have been using feral pigeons as a steady food source. In Portland, for example, there are several active nests of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) in the city limits. Would it be better if they were in wild habitats eating native prey? Sure. But the city isn't going away anytime soon, and the pigeons provide food for these once-imperiled predatory birds that are taking up the niche that's offered to them.
So personally? I see no issues with you putting some food out for the pigeons on your windowsill. Just sterilize the surface they eat on on a regular basis so that you aren't promoting disease transmission, and keep an eye out for more potentially troublesome critters below the window if the food gets knocked off on a regular basis. Also, I don't have personal experience caring for pigeons, but I would recommend doing some research as to what a proper diet for a pigeon would be. There are still folks who keep them as pets so I'm sure you can find plenty of information on what's best for their nutrition and digestive systems.
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