Timeless Bestiary: Steppe Catakarán (dragon-bird)Steppe catakaráns, as their name implies, live main

Timeless Bestiary: Steppe Catakarán (dragon-bird)Steppe catakaráns, as their name implies, live mainly on the steppe, though they also range as far as the border of the cold desert and the edge of the southern forests.Steppe catakaráns are smaller than their cousins, the tundra catakárans, and express a more extreme sexual dimorphism. They also differ in that they live in flocks rather than being loners. A flock of steppe catakaráns consists of one male (cock), four to five females (hens) and their chicks. A cock will mate with all of his hens, and they’ll lay from three to five eggs. When the chicks hatch, one or two hens are left behind to take care of them while the cock and the remaining hens will hunt and bring back food.Steppe catakaráns are carnivores, and chasers. Their long legs and slender builds allow them to run at extreme speeds and for long periods of time. A flock will circle the prey and attack its back and legs with their long, sharp beaks and talons, trying to injure their tendons or tire them out. They have a scythe-shaped talon that allows them to pierce thick hides and get a good grip of a prey’s rump. The adult hunters will eat as much as they can, and go back to the nest to regurgitate food for the remaining hens and chicks, until they are grown up enough to join the hunt.Males are extremely territorial and protective of their flocks. When a rival arrives, the local male will try to intimidate his rival by opening and inflating his head feathers and dewlap. If the rival doesn’t back off, a fight for dominance will break out. Both will aim for the opponent’s dewlap and feathers, trying to damage them with their beaks, while trying to incapacitate the rival with their talons and scythe-claws.While hens are allowed to stay, alpha cocks will chase male chicks away once they’re old enough to be a potential rival. The exiled males will then try to form their own flock. The male steppe catakarán’s extravagant feathers and dewlap are used in courtship as well, and a cock will display them to impress a hen. Like their tundra cousins, the beak of a steppe catakarán is hollow inside. They clack their beaks as an additional courtship ritual.Also like tundra catakaráns, steppe catakaráns are able to regurgitate half-digested food as a last resort weapon against a potential threat. -- source link

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