Vaepogis
Vaepogis, more commonly called Moonless Hawks, are a common sight on the southern coasts of Endref. Moonless Hawks are predator birds that mainly eat mice, voles, and other rodents throughout the city, though some Moonless Hawks have been known to catch and eat fish as well as small game such as rabbits and even foxes. The vaepogis does have a few natural predators itself, including the copperband eagle, as well as large burl foxes (who will hunt sleeping vaepogis during the day by climbing into the upper areas of burl trees).
Moonless Hawks are one of the smaller raptors in southern Laerdt'nah, with an average wingspan of around 85-120cm. Female Moonless Hawks are often bigger than males, though each eco-region tends to feature at least one primae Moonless Hawk who is male and who has a wingspan of up to 200cm. Because of their smaller size, Moonless Hawks are able to thrive with more limited food sources, making them one of the more plentiful predatory birds in the south.
Moonless Hawks are so named because of their deep blue-black colouration and the white speckles on their head and talons that gives the illusion of stars in the night sky. Moonless Hawks have a black sharp curved beak and three talons on each foot, with two talons ranging forward and one extending backward. Some vaepogis also have white speckles on the tips of their tail feathers and occasionally across their chest, though this marking pattern is more common in the southwest of Endref (in Laummamor) then elsewhere.
Most Moonless Hawks hunt predominantly at night and spend their days either nestled into caves with rock faces or in the covered tops of burl trees, which protect them from weather while providing a warm nesting site. However, when it comes time for mating, Moonless Hawks will find an active rabbit den or mice borrow and dig out a large cone into one den entrance. They will then line the cone with nesting material and lay their eggs. If any rodents investigate the nest from below, the mother will shift the eggs and attack through the nest, killing the rodent and claiming a meal. Otherwise, when the eggs eventually hatch, the baby hawk often falls into the burrow and is protected from threats while also having potential access to food (though the mother will then throw food down into the home). When the baby hawk has gained enough strength, it will use small vestigial talons on the ends of its wings to crawl out of the hole to where the mother is, and she will then nurse the child on the surface and eventually lift it to a high surface to begin practising flying.
Moonless Hawks are sometimes, though very rarely, kept by falconers as hunting birds or as messenger birds. Moonless Hawks are not particularly intelligent or stupid, but it is difficult to gain a Moonless Hawks cooperation without resorting to magical means. Even Moonless Hawks raised solely in captivity will seek to escape persistently and will, once out of sight of their keepers, free themselves if possible. Many falconers who keep Moonless Hawks do so through a cruel practice of clipping their wings or chaining their talons to a stationary location. Despite the relative difficulty of keeping a Moonless Hawk, the hawk is a common symbol in merchant house sigils and other markings in Endref.
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