Songbird

Songbirds were a clade of birds that could be found in many parts of the Realms.

Species

 * Crow
 * Finch
 * Jackdaw: a species of songbird that had been on Toril as far back as the days of Netheril. They had an instinctive desire to amass a horde of shiny objects.
 * Lark: a species of songbird that had been on Toril as far back as the days of Netheril.
 * Magpie: another species of songbird that was noted for its thieving tendencies with shiny objects.
 * Nightingales
 * Sorcery crows: a species of songbird that had scarlet plumage and resembled a crow. They possessed the unique ability to see into the Weave.
 * Swallow: a species of songbird with colorful plumage, whose existence on Toril dated as far back as the days of Netheril.
 * Warbler: a species of songbird that had been on Toril as far back as the days of Netheril.

Habitats
In Faerûn, songbirds were known to inhabit the Yuirwood, the Forest of Mir, the Farsea Marshes, and the Tun Marshes. The latter in particular was home to songbirds with brightly colored plumage, who preferred the mild climate and weather of the Tun Marshes.

Songbirds could also be found in much of northwest Faerûn.

Beyond Faerûn, songbirds of a wide variety of plumage could be found in the jungles and shores of Zakhara. On that peninsula, there was a particularly large population of them in the city of Huzuz. And the Palace of the Enlightened Throne also had many songbirds in it.

Beyond the Prime Material plane, songbirds could be found in the forests of Barovia.

Relationships
Songbirds were a favored animal of the deities Mielikki, Milil, and Finder Wyvernspur. Milil especially favored nightingales.

Usage

 * In the city of Ravens Bluff, the store known as the Friendly Familiar sold songbirds as pets. And in that same city, Nimber's Skewer Shop sold battered-and-fried songbirds.
 * Tengu, of both the crow and humanoid variety, often kept songbirds as pets. They typically lived in cages hung from trees near a tengu's lair.
 * In the Grand Bazaar of Huzuz, the merchant Minak al-Zafyi sold songbirds.
 * Many Zakharans considered songbird to be a valued addition to urban gardens. And they were particularly prized as pets in Huzuz. In the bazaars of that land a songbird could fetch prices of around seven silver pieces to two gold pieces, while trained ones could fetch prices of seven to twenty gold pieces.

Notable Songbirds

 * In Amphail, the store Maerlbar Eggs & Fresh Fowl had a golden-hued songbird on display in a bamboo cage. And its owner claimed that this was a Red Wizardess of Thay that had been trapped in that form by spells.
 * The wight Gorra kept a caged, skeletal songbird in their office.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Realms of Infamy, "Raven's Egg" • Finder's Bane • The Jewel of Turmish
 * The Crimson Gold
 * The Crimson Gold