Stirge

A stirge is a tiny magical beast that feeds on the blood of other creatures. A group of stirges is known as a "thirst".

Cormanthor
Stirges in Cormanthor live in colonies that have a roaming area of around one square mile, and they sleep by day. At night, they pick on weaker or smaller animals such as dogs, goats or pheasants and suck their blood. Female stirges outnumber the males by ten to one, and will fly to a distant area, usually the rimwood, to lay their eggs so that their young will not provide them with competition for food. The eggs are laid in a shallow hole in the ground and covered with dust or plants. The females then hibernate. Around ninety percent of the eggs are lost to predators such as badgers or wild pigs because they are unprotected and poorly disguised. When the remaining eggs hatch, the young will usually fly up to a hundred miles to establish their own territory.

The inside of broken or hatched stirge eggs contains a green foul-smelling jelly that will deter stirges from attacking for up to a whole day if it is rubbed on the skin.