Lava Pecker
Lava Peckers
Lava Peckers originate from volcanic areas, where they live and nest high on the sides of the volcanic mountain range, on the warm rocks, among the cold air.
Adult birds are about 40 to 50 finger widths long, including a 20 to 30 finger widths tail. Their wing span from tip to tip is about 60 to 70 finger widths. The Lava Peckers mature after a year, and get up to seven years old in the wild.
The birds will eat everything, on their volcanic home ground food is scarce and they regularly fly down into vallies to eat fruits such as berries, insect, and even small rodents and birds. On the mountainside the've been seen searching manure of mountain goats for edibles, and even scavenging from carcasses.
Depening on how harsh the winter was, female Lava Peckers lay about three to eight eggs, but usually raise only three to four chicks, depending on the availability of food.
Lava Peckers are non-monogamous, their relations ships only last for the season. A male and female will choose each other in the spring and then stay together throughout the summer, raising the chicks together, taking turns guarding the nest. Breeding the eggs by sitting on them to keep them warm is hardly necessary as they choose to build their eggs on warm rock. Keeping the wind of the tops is enough protection. During autumn this relation breaks, even if the animal's life inside the same cloud together their whole life. They do not seem to share anything over the winter, and in the spring both male and female birds look for a partner all over again, it's not been recorded that this same two bird end up with each other year after year, but it's also not unlikely given in small cloud sizes.
The cloak of the birds is brown on the belly, and brown/greyish on the underside of the wings, the legs and beak are a matt black. And the back and top of wings a dusty black. The head is dark blue which fades into black on the back without a clar line. The eyes of the Lava Pecker are bright red.
In contrast to their names, they do not actually peck at lava.
Air ships
With the first passage of steam powered air ships over the mountains and volcanos, some of the more adventurous birds have hitched a ride on top of the warm balloons of the air ships, finding the warm balloons ideal places to rest and sleep, and even build nests.
Because airships sail the Sky, this has spread the species, to different climates, where the abundance of food has really increased the breeding rate. Lava Peckers stuck to living on top of airships, and even with the mobile soft platforms of their nest, they are very successful in raising their chicks.
Some airships have their own cloud, living on and around the ship for several generations.
For the crews of the air ships the birds are a plague, their sharp claws and beak, suitable for living on volcanic rock, easily puncture the balloon, creating dozens of very small leaks, out of which the precious lifting gas leaks away. New balloons can be made with a reinforced cloth on the top, but they are a lot heavier, restricting the lifting capacity of the ship. But also the birds shit, a lot, and due to the diet of the birds their faeces fasten the deterioration of the balloons.
Surprisingly the birds are not effected by the smoke emitted from the smokestacks on top of the balloons, the Coal fired boilers seem to remind them of the volcanic gasses of their homes. It's even been observed that some birds sit on the funnels edge, in full blow of the smoke with their wings spread. We don't know why they do that.
It is possible to get rid of a few Lava Peckers if they are frequenting the ship, but this requires a lot of persuasion of the crew, and even if there is no other suitable living spot nearby the birds keep returning. Another way is to let the balloon cool down, or even deflate for at least three months, the birds will fly off to find another home then.
With clouds of birds following air ships around, huge colonies arise around air ports, where birds meet, sometimes they change ship, change clouds, and sometimes huge fights break out. Most air ports have a dedicated crew, trying to keep the bird population down, and clean up after them.
Love the details and the naturalist approach. Everything fits together so nicely! It really makes it come alive.
Thank you :)