Biology

The Grawlfisher is a remarkably sturdy and long lived bird that when mature typically has a wingspan of around 6 meters, though extremely long lived birds can grow up to 12 meters long. Their bodies grow throughout their entire lives, though it slows down considerably later in life. Their maximum size seems to be limited not by their growth, but by physics with the larger Grawlfishers becoming so large they can't fly, and eventually die off to make way for younger Grawlfishers.

Eyes

The Eyes of the Grawlfisher appear to be on their way to becoming vestigial. They are located on the bird's head, and can be covered by both an internal eyelid and a secondary external eyelid made of bone. Younger birds will often use their eyes, and cover them when piercing through the canopy but the adults typically leave their eyes closed and rely entirely on their radar.

The Grawlfisher's eyesight is typically pretty terrible, and later in life is used mainly for telling when it is daytime so that they can hunt at night.

Radar Organ

Covered by their bony beak, the Grawlfisher has an organ that can emit and detect radar waves. It uses this to generate a picture of its environment, and to see through the thick forest canopies to detect prey on the ground.

Coloration

The feathers and body of the bird are typically darker in coloration, either a more ashy-grey or a dark blue naturally. As the birds age, their coat tends to take on a coloration that includes more reds and greens as colors from their diet seep into their body and feathers.

Ecology

Habitat

The Grawlfisher tends to migrate between the northern regions and the equatorial areas of the planet Hawking.

Hunting

The Grawlfisher is a meat-eating bird that will typically search for prey from above the tree canopy, using their innate radar to see through the leaves and find prey to swoop down on. They tend to prefer shallow dives, using their beak to help cut through the canopy and protect their wings as much as possible. This results in their targets often not being completely skewered by their bladed beaks. Often swishing motions are required to completely kill their target before snatching up the remaining chunks for consumption.

The more adult birds can also focus their innate radar on smaller creatures to heat them, usually induing heat stroke and killing or at least incapacitating them long enough for them to be devoured. Often this is used to kill smaller, other, birds as its not energy efficient for the larger birds to hunt smaller creatures on the ground[/h]