Terrorcanthus, The Feathered Hunter

Darius' caravan had been encamped just north of the Blade river for almost 3 days now, and firewood was becoming scarce. They were a large wagon train of 20 carts and had been a drain on the natural resources of the area. They had thus far slain 6 elk for eating and had foraged the fruits of the surrounding land completely, they were now left drinking soup from the bones and cartilage of the elk and had cracked them open for the marrow, the offal having since been found to be tainted by some wasting disease. Darius did not realize what a misfortune the rainstorms would become before he had left the previous town otherwise he would have spent the extra coin to stay in the village in relative comfort. Another day here and they would have to begin rationing their cargo of cornmeal, carrots, beets, and oats. Nearly 4 days ahead of when they planned to, as the previous village didn't have the anticipated rations.
"Darius!" The village elder who had accompanied him shouted from the twilit clearing outside his tent. "Darius, Come quick, bring your crossbow! We have an emergency!" Darius averted his attention from the cargo manifest and his diary quickly slinging the gut cord his crossbow was hanging from onto his left shoulder and wincing as he heard the stitches of his sleeve pop open, his wife would have his hide for his carelessness with her fine work. He grabbed the hefty ax he used for chopping dead trees or firewood and left the tent. "What's happening? Bandits?" The elder shook his head no. "No. Lari's horse bolted, somethin' scared it enough for it to tear the stake plumb out the ground!" Darius sighed "Well go search and if Y'all can't find 'em Lari will need to use one of our spares" The elder groaned in frustration "The dummy didn't bring spare tackle and left the harness on that horse, that harness is the only one he had, and we are already out of the spare harnesses, we only have bits and reins" Darius kicked mud "I will wear that boy's ass out with this ax handle, no use moping about let's go find the nag." Darius slogged his way through the mud to Lari's site on the edge of the camp and gave his young nephew a tongue lashing for the ages. Lari showed Darius to the area he had staked the horse down at. In the lamplight, they found the horse's tracks and followed them.
When the group was about 30 feet into the treeline they noticed a new set of tracks, three large clawed toes and deep. Darius' nerves were now set on edge his adrenalin pounding into his blood, he was now hyperaware of every shadow and twig snapping. He loaded his crossbow and held the ax under his arm. They continued with Darius in single file, Darius leading and Lari bringing up the rear, as usual. After walking another 10 minutes the rain stopped "Finally," Darius said louder than he had intended, "hopefully it stays gone and we can ford the river by dusk tomorrow." At that time Darius saw the remains of the horse and immediately vacated his stomach. The horse's neck had been broken at an impossible angle, its shoulder and chest were completely flattened, Its foreleg was severely broken; appearing to have tripped, and its hindquarters were completely missing with organs spilling out of its gut. The elder thinking quick and moving with the speed and strength of fear, a combination only old-timers and soldiers can truly master, quickly removed the harness and came back to the two shocked young men, "We need to leave. Now."

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Terrorcanthus is a large bipedal bird with plumage ranging from a dark blue to purple hue. The entire body, save the lower legs and beak is covered in their feathers. The lower legs of the beast are covered in thick, dark brown scales. The terrorcanthus' beak is large, hard, and hooked suited for picking up its prey. The female terrorcanthus stands around 7 feet, while the male measures approximately 10. The feet of the bird have four toes, 3 of which are front facing, sturdy, and useful for running and swimming, the fourth toe is rear facing and helps the bird grasp the thick sturdy limbs of the forests they inhabit. The birds do have wings and, although stubby, they aid in climbing trees and swimming. Their beak matches the color of their lower legs most usually. Their eyes range from a bright golden brown to nearly black.

Biological Traits

A terrorcanthus can live to be up to 40 years old, however, on average they live to be 30. Terrorcanthus can weigh up to a quarter ton, but rarely more.

Genetics and Reproduction

Terrorcanthus birth live young after a gestation period of approximately 3 months. However, they don't give live birth in a manner typical of other species that do. The terrorcanthus forms their eggs over the course of about 4 weeks from copulation. The female does not lay the eggs, instead, at approximately a month and a half of incubation in the womb the eggs hatch, and the chicks survive on the yolk of their egg and may possibly eat their siblings in the womb. After approximately another 15 days, the mother gives birth. Eggs are formed in clutches of 4. Although about half of the time the runt is eaten by the others. Not much is known about the mating process of the bird as any who get close enough to see are often aggressively mauled. Terrorcanthus breed based on the availability of food as opposed to the time of year. Meaning that they breed year round and can rapidly expand their population.

Growth Rate & Stages

Terrorcanthus immediately form a flock as soon as they are born, as their mother and her flock abandon them immediately after birth. they will merge with any other juvenile flocks they encounter, and juvenile flocks are, usually, larger in number, at around 8 to 10 individuals, after about a year the flock becomes aggressive and territorial as other flocks are. At approximately 3 to 4 years the birds have reached sexual maturity and males are driven from flocks. About a year later the females are full sized and after another 5 months, the males are as well.

Ecology and Habitats

The terrorcanthus are often found in the temperate forests and rainforests of southeast Ischium where prey is readily available year-round. Their large size and deadly efficiency of their claws and beak make them an apex predator, not hunted by much other than brave hunters from nearby villages, and megafaunas such as dragons and basilisks when fully grown.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Terrorcanthus' hunting techniques vary from packs to individuals. An individual terrorcanthus may wait on a limb above a game trail and jump down onto a prey animal, which is why on most maintained roads in their native habitat, trees are cut down until they are a good distance away from the road. However a pack of terrorcanthus set up an ambush in a different manner, they will often have a single bird chase their prey, often running about 30 miles an hour, into the midst of the pack, where the group will kick it and tear it to pieces with its bill, then eat it. A singular terrorcanthus will target prey that they can pick up with their beak. Once they pick up the prey, they then shake the prey until they kill it, often hitting it against any hard surfaces they can locate. On occasion, they do hunt in water, and when they do they rely on their lightning-fast reflexes to catch fish out of the water. Depending on the size of the fish they swallow it whole or take it to a stone or the riverbank to eat.

Biological Cycle

Due to the stable climate, they are native to the terrorcanthus have no seasonal changes as their main prey are not seasonally affected either. Though in the central area of their habitat near the blade river lone males may hunt fish during their spawning seasons

Additional Information

Domestication

If captured as juveniles less than a year they can be tamed. But adults will refuse to eat and will attempt to kill any who enter their enclosure. However, their strictly carnivorous nature makes them expensive to care for.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Tame individuals are harvested for their vibrant plumage. There is not much other use in domesticating this animal as the meat is tough and stringy and they do not lay eggs. Some endemic cultures do tame the bird and train it for hunting purposes on rare occasions. Other cultures will let people who are accused of crimes out to hunt them with just a spear and knife as a form of a trial if they bring back the field dressed corpse of the beast they are acquitted of their crimes.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

As a predator, the terrorcanthus has exceptional sight, scent, and hearing. The bird is nocturnal and has excellent sight to take advantage of the slight amount of light that leaks its way through the forest canopy at night. Its good sense of smell helps it track creatures that have passed through the brush recently. The hearing of the bird is strong enough that they can hear each other's calls from a couple miles away