Elephant bird

Elephant bird were large birds native to the jungles of Zakhara.

Description
Elephant birds were rather large for birds, being about in length. They had curved yellow beaks and green feathers; males could be distinguished by the red "racing stripes" that ran from their eyes to their tails. They sometimes had an odd gullet protruding beneath the throat.

Behavior
Elephant birds were fierce predators, but only as dangerous instinct and necessity led them to be.

Combat
Elephant birds were dangerous for their cooperation: they lived in flocks of 10-100 members, and formed great hunting flights that were said to be capable of bringing down an elephant, hence their name. In a hunting flight, elephant birds carried up to three stones in their gullet, where the rocks grew superheated. When the flock found potential prey, they began to drop the stones on it. When they ran out of stones, they could either find more, or they could attack with the claws and beak; blinding beleagured prey with flying feathers and the flapping wings of countless birds.

Ecology
Elephant birds were typically active during the daytime and the species greatest strength was that its members worked together. They nested and hunted together, and such was their cooperation that they were near the top of the food chain.

Diet
Elephant birds were an omnivorous species, eating berries, grains, worms and insects, or, preferably, carrion. They preferred most of all fresh meat and would terrorize livestock in civilized areas whenever food was scarce or if the pickings looked especially good.

Habitats
Elephant birds lived near clearings in or on the edges of the jungles of Zakhara, staying away from settled regions due to their tendency be hunted. They nested high in the treetops, where they could see any enemies approaching long before the hunters managed to do any harm. However, most predators only approached the nests when the elephant birds were hunting (which still risked tangling with any birds that had stayed behind).

In east Zakhara, they could be found in the Grey Jungle.

Relationships
Only humans and humanoid species were known to hunt elephant birds, taking every opportunity to do so in order to protect their livestock. And although elephant birds themselves were fierce, their eggs were prized as delicacies by other inhabitants of the jungles.

Appearances

 * Card Games : AD&D Trading Cards