Kabus Nightjar
Racial Magic:
Second Ability
☀️Rithaldis' Eye
Able to see radiant energy and able to see using radiant energy, even over long distances. This includes ionizong radiation.
☀️Rithaldis' Sense
Able to feel their environment using radiant energy, anything interacting with it and sense radiant energy in their environment despite barriers. Also immune to damage from radiant energy.
by Lee Stepp
As crimson light bleeds into the sky of Sahra' al-Shamsi, the desert comes to life and remains frozen in continuous dusk throughout the evening. Many crepuscular creatures rouse as the sun sinks beneath the sands, including the Kabus Nightjar, its eerie call stirring inextricable dread. There are many folktales about these peculiar and mysterious birds.
They appear to emerge from thin air, almost never spotted during the day, and flit silently amid the shadows with their unnaturally large mouths agape, jarring travelers in the night with their peculiar and startling song—how could one not speculate the worst of this tiny terror? Its churring call echoes about the dunes, it's notes causing the heart to flutter and stomach to knot. If you linger for too long, terror and panic are sure to set in and if this alone isn't enough, nightmares are known to follow long after the encounter.
Despite their treacherous song and mysterious habits, these little birds are otherwise harmless. While some believe they eat the souls of the departed or act as an omen of an impending death, in reality they have a taste for only one thing: insects. They flit about the desert sands, plucking up or scooping moths and beetles from the air with gaping mouths and reflective eyes. Their infamous song, laced with dark magic, calls out to potential mates and repels would be predators. But dangerous or not, they're still quite unsettling!
Anatomy
by Lee Stepp
Its feathers are downy soft and possess a pattern and coloration which allows it to blend into the sand entirely when motionless. As a nightjar, it possesses a small body while it's wings and tail are long by comparison. It has a large and markedly gaping mouths for catching prey and large eyes. It flies quietly, strong and deliberate wingbeats alternating with sweeps and motionless glides. Enjoys roosting underneath Artemesia and Maliha Tamarisk.
Original Ancestor
Egyptian Nightjar
Lifespan
Size
Wingspan: 55-63 cm (22-25 in)
Coloration
Distribution
Shamsi Desert and Arabiyyan Desert
Diet
Insectivorous, eating moths, beetles, flies, crickets, termites and flying ants. Their favorite prey are Solar Moth which flock around miniature suns of the Radiant Dunes or even unseen radiation. They can sense and consume even these volatile species thanks to their own radiant magic.
Senses
by Lee Stepp
Excellent night vision and hearing. Its big eyes are reflective with a high amount of rods, giving it appropriate night vision as a crepuscular hunter. Its sense of hearing is also excellent, one of its most important tools for both hunting and detecting predators. Their racial magic also allows them to feel or see radiant energy. Those with sight use this to avoid radiation while those with sense are immune, instead drawn to areas of high radiation for their favorite meal—solar moths.
Reproduction
by Lee Stepp
The characteristic churring call they are infamous for is used for three things: repelling predators, indicating territory and for attracting mates. Males sing to drive away rivals and attract a female, adding a tinge of loneliness to his frightful song. The pair will usually have two to four eggs which are brown with spots and blotches for camouflage. The female incubates the eggs during the day, hiding them with her sandy colored body. She will remain as still as possible to evade detection. They incubate for 19-21 days. Hatchlings are fluffy and capable of movemwnt within 24 hours.
Hatchlings move away from each other or their parents will push them apart with their feet, flushing them from the nest. The male will stand guard and defend them, their parents feeding them regurgitated insects until they are fledglings. They move their roosting sight daily as well. If a predator invades their roosting site, parents will flush the nest so their chicks scatter and will feign injury as they lead away the threat. The chicks will scatter and freeze, making use of their own camoflage. They usually fly at about 20-21 days old.
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