A I: Mockingbirds OUTDATED

Written by Neons-Mindrealm

Mockingbirds
Irritating Creatures of Alterna I: The Lands of Paradise

Origins:

With the exact origin of these tricksters remaining based on rumors, most believe that Mockingbirds were once created by the forest's deity Ariya herself as independent collectors of various sounds from all across the Lands. However, instead of roaming around freely through each of the 5 spirit created biomes like the Great Spirit intended, they adapted purely to a life within the Endless Forest. Where they not only mastered the music of its environment, but also learned how to perfectly imitate each being that coexists with them.

Current Habitat:

Mockingbirds can mainly be found in the central part of the Endless Forest, between the Bridge and the Great Clearing, where they either nest up high on one of the many branches covering the sky, or down low inside of a dense bush.
Occasionally, though quite rarely, they may also be found around the Underground Garden or near the Malgrem Tribe in the deeper parts of the forest.

Average Size / Height:

On average, Mockingbirds reach a height of roughly 20 centimeters tall, with a wingspan of around 36.

Diet:

As both granivores and insectivores, Mockingbirds feed primarily on the abundance of different seeds they can find within the Endless Forest, or occasionally also on some of the various small insects that crawl across the branches they rest on.

Physical Appearance:

Mainly following a common avian physique, Mockingbirds possess two fairly thin, dark brown scaled legs, reminiscent of twigs, with two short front faced, as well as one larger opposing claw on each of their feet.
Their plumage is of a similar brownish color, mixed with some dark green feathers to almost become invisible when sitting in between dense leafage, where their heads show a more vibrant green and red color scheme.
During an imitation, Mockingbirds will puff up these feathers on their crest, which will then look very similar to a blooming red flower.
Mockingbirds also possess a highly flexible and even quite stretchable tongue, placed within a medium-sized, yellowish green beak, that they use primarily to fine tune their imitations, or sometimes even as an extra layer of mockery when spotted.

Behavior and Social Structure:

Out in the wild, Mockingbirds count as solitary yet social creatures.
Whilst they may not live together in groups or packs, they do frequently come together as pairs or trios, simply to collectively mess with an unsuspecting victim.
Now even though their mimicry is often just used as an effective way to distract potential predators, they also appear to be taking great joy in the sound imitation of dangerous situations themselves, where they gleefully watch as other beings react in terror.
Amongst adventurers and mercenaries, it is also not uncommon for them to be captured and trained as versatile companions. Where they are either used as highly effective distractions, or to simply have some company on a lonesome adventure.

Role in the Food Chain:

As creatures who mainly rely on their unmatched talent of sound imitation to avoid dangers, Mockingbirds do not find themselves able to fend off even smaller predators in an open confrontation.
However, they are also no easy target for just any predator in the Endless Forest, as they do possess a fairly sensitive hearing to enable them to most accurately receive a wide variety of noise, not only aiding their survival but also their acquisition of new sounds to imitate.

Special Abilities and unique Physical Traits:

Believed to be aided by a primal form of Channeling, Mockingbirds are able to precisely manipulate their breath to, in combination with their highly flexible tongues, perfectly imitate near every sound they have at least heard once.
They are also said to possess a surprisingly well-developed memory and spacial awareness to not only remember a wide variety of different sounds from both the environment and creatures. But also seem to understand quite well what kind of reaction, specific sounds or even sentences cause for other beings.

Additional Insights:

Even though Mockingbirds themselves do not pose any direct threat to even the most unprepared adventurers or lumberjacks of the Endless Forest, their flawless imitation of much larger hazards has often proven to be a serious threat to be reconned with.
As not only can their imitations cause severe paranoia whilst venturing through the forest, many have also already mistook real approaching dangers as nothing more than a mockery of these tricksters, only to be ambushed moments after.
Some rumors even speak about Malgrems training these birds to imitate the voice of a person in distress, just to lure foolish adventurers into a deadly trap.