Bomber Penguin Eggfall
The harsh continent of Baiyotes is known for the elaborate lifecycles and metamorphoses of its flora and fauna. The Bomber Penguins are among the largest and most celebrated of its inhabitants. These fascinating animals are highly sexually dimorphic, with females and males diverging in morphology, habitat, diet, and lifespan before even being born.
Female penguins can grow up to 2 meters in length with a wingspan of 4-5 meters. They are hypercarnivorous and live most of their lives at sea, preying on fish and rarely roosting on land. They can be identified by their size, their black, white, and yellow coloration, and their eyebrow-like crest feathers.
Male penguins, on the other hand, are flightless, terrestrial birds with atrophied wings, strong legs and feet, and dull, white and brown coloration. They rarely exceed 1 meter in height and use their wings as digging claws. Their diet consists of seeds, small invertebrates like worms, and occasionally carrion.
Eggfall is used by the Baizen and Bailen peoples to refer to the mating season of the Bomber Penguin, described below. The two tribes have different traditions to celebrate Eggfall. When the female penguins arrive at the coasts to feed, the sedentary Bailen begin a harvest festival, marked by seafood boils, dances, and caroling. When "true" Eggfall begins, the nomadic Baizen begin the Egg Hunt, where they wear ritual penguin costumes and search for recently dropped eggs. The shells are extremely hard and difficult to crack, but are prized as a delicacy after extreme cooking methods such as pickling, fermenting, and lava roasting. For both peoples, Eggfall represents fertility and nature's bounty.
Female penguins can grow up to 2 meters in length with a wingspan of 4-5 meters. They are hypercarnivorous and live most of their lives at sea, preying on fish and rarely roosting on land. They can be identified by their size, their black, white, and yellow coloration, and their eyebrow-like crest feathers.
Male penguins, on the other hand, are flightless, terrestrial birds with atrophied wings, strong legs and feet, and dull, white and brown coloration. They rarely exceed 1 meter in height and use their wings as digging claws. Their diet consists of seeds, small invertebrates like worms, and occasionally carrion.
Eggfall is used by the Baizen and Bailen peoples to refer to the mating season of the Bomber Penguin, described below. The two tribes have different traditions to celebrate Eggfall. When the female penguins arrive at the coasts to feed, the sedentary Bailen begin a harvest festival, marked by seafood boils, dances, and caroling. When "true" Eggfall begins, the nomadic Baizen begin the Egg Hunt, where they wear ritual penguin costumes and search for recently dropped eggs. The shells are extremely hard and difficult to crack, but are prized as a delicacy after extreme cooking methods such as pickling, fermenting, and lava roasting. For both peoples, Eggfall represents fertility and nature's bounty.
Manifestation
Eggfall can refer to the full mating period of the Bomber Penguin, or more specifically to the several days when females release their eggs. The mating period begins in early spring when female penguins migrate to the coasts of Baiyotes to take advantage of red blooms, when food is plentiful due to the spawning of various fish and invertebrate species. As they fly, the females honk loudly, prompting the normally solitary male penguins to rush to the coast as well. The fastest males get to the beaches in time to mate. One female is able to mate with multiple males, each fertilizing several eggs. As red blooms rarely last more than a week, mating season is competitive and furious. Some years, the red blooms are not large enough to attract the females, in which case there is no mating season at all. A year with no Eggfall is viewed as an omen of hard times to come.
After the red bloom has subsided, the females take to the skies and begin "true" Eggfall. Bomber Penguin eggs are small and extremely strong, allowing them to survive unscathed when females lay them in mid-air and send them plummeting earthward. Females typically fly straight inland while "bombing", resulting in a relatively uniform distribution of young throughout Baiyotes. Each female can lay up to fifty eggs. The eggs are hot and fast enough to penetrate the tough permafrost, usually between 5-10 centimenters but sometimes up to half a meter deep. At the same time, males scurry across the continent, following their mates and attempting to locate eggs. If successful, the males will dig out an egg and form a protective flock of 3-5 members.
The excavated eggs will be protected by the flocks of males that found them, often referred to as an "honor guard." These eggs hatch only a few weeks after being laid, and always into a female bird. Hatchling females are altricial and unable to survive without their honor guard, which is responsible for bringing worms and insects to feed the chick and protecting her from predators. With the benefit of a high protein diet and doting caregivers, the chick grows her wings and learns to fly in a few months. During summertime, around when the male birds are hatching, the females will take to the air and begin hunting on their own. By winter, the females leave their honor guard behind and are fully independent.
Eggs that are not found will incubate for several months and eventually hatch during the summer when the soil is softest, and the resulting male birds will dig themselves out. Hatchling males are highly precocious and solitary until they reach sexual maturity at 2 years of age and begin to participate in Eggfalls themselves.
After the red bloom has subsided, the females take to the skies and begin "true" Eggfall. Bomber Penguin eggs are small and extremely strong, allowing them to survive unscathed when females lay them in mid-air and send them plummeting earthward. Females typically fly straight inland while "bombing", resulting in a relatively uniform distribution of young throughout Baiyotes. Each female can lay up to fifty eggs. The eggs are hot and fast enough to penetrate the tough permafrost, usually between 5-10 centimenters but sometimes up to half a meter deep. At the same time, males scurry across the continent, following their mates and attempting to locate eggs. If successful, the males will dig out an egg and form a protective flock of 3-5 members.
The excavated eggs will be protected by the flocks of males that found them, often referred to as an "honor guard." These eggs hatch only a few weeks after being laid, and always into a female bird. Hatchling females are altricial and unable to survive without their honor guard, which is responsible for bringing worms and insects to feed the chick and protecting her from predators. With the benefit of a high protein diet and doting caregivers, the chick grows her wings and learns to fly in a few months. During summertime, around when the male birds are hatching, the females will take to the air and begin hunting on their own. By winter, the females leave their honor guard behind and are fully independent.
Eggs that are not found will incubate for several months and eventually hatch during the summer when the soil is softest, and the resulting male birds will dig themselves out. Hatchling males are highly precocious and solitary until they reach sexual maturity at 2 years of age and begin to participate in Eggfalls themselves.
Type
Natural
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