Scarlet Grouse
"The bushes wailed and slapped and howled
and gave a flash of red
I slung my sling with the bravest mien
and let fly my bit of lead!
"In summer time the grouse are fine
A tasty bird stew they make
But in winter cold it never gets old
A meat pie from them to bake!
"Though they can't fly but for little leaps
and the wind ruffles them fierce
Tied to arrows and quarrel bolts
they fly straight and pierce!
"If your plate is full or hunger takes
A second worry though
A fine gift all wrapped in red
Can tell you friend from foe!"
Basic Information
Anatomy
Scarlet Grouse are a pheasant common in Seaudyr and a number of other continents. They are characterized by bright red feathers (males only) and chubby-yet-muscular bodies.
Genetics and Reproduction
Newspring to Newsummer is the mating season for the scarlet grouse. A female will mate three to four times in a season, laying 12 to 16 eggs at a clutch from each. More males are born than females by a rate of three to one. In addition, most females during most years will lay a "false clutch" of unfertilized eggs at some point during mating season. This false clutch is poisonous, and the bright eggs are generally left alone by predators. The eggs will hatch all at once around midsummer, triggered by warm rains. Without these rains, the eggs will hybernate indefinitely
Growth Rate & Stages
Scarlet grouse are born in the warm Midsummer rains as bright red chicks. They last in this stage for three to four weeks, until they become jakes. Male jakes maintain their bright colors and develop a pair of venomous spurs on their feet, with an aggressive attitude to match. Females begin to dull out, and throughout the rest of their lives their feathers will remain camouflaged with the seasons: green and brown for spring and summer, orange and brown in the fall, and white and gray in the winter. In Newinter to Midwinter, the jakes become adults, and contriubute to the next mating cycle. After ten to fifteen years, they enter the final stage and become gawks, which don't contribute to the mating cycle but do protect younger generations.
Ecology and Habitats
Scarlet grouse have a wide range, and rarely migrate. They exist anywhere they can continue to find the fruit and worms that they eat. They are the prime game fowl in every ecology they occur in, and are happily hunted by griffins, cats, drakes, humans, goblins, and elves. In places where they find no predation, their populations explode and they expand ever outward until they find something that eats them quickly enough to curtail this expansion.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Scarlet grouse eat berries and small fruits, as well as any insects and worms that they can catch.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Scarlet grouse live in large flocks of interrelated birds called rafters. These rafters can be anywhere from fifteen to two hundred individuals depending on the season and local predators. When they get this large, they can actually be quite dangerous.
Domestication
Scarlet grouse are sometimes domesticated as pets. Chicks imprint on anything that feeds them enough times, and they can be trained with a whistle. Individual assassins have been known to maintain female grouse to harvest their unfertilized eggs for poison.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Scarlet grouse are commonly hunted for meat, which preserves well when salted or smoked, keeping it's flavor and nutrition for a year or more. Pickled grouse lasts even longer, though this is generously referred to as an 'acquired' taste.
Poison can be harvested from the spurs of males or the false clutches of females. This venom chars and blisters any flesh that it touches, and is a common ingredient in alchemist's fire and acid (with the proper treatment.)
The feathers are water-resistant, smooth, and resistant to the elements. This makes them ideal for use as fletching, and in the use of quill pens. They are also ground into a powder and mixed with vinegar to create a scarlet pigment used in clothing, art and heraldry.
The bones are light and flexible, which makes them popular for use in jewelry, small baskets, and snares.
Finally, they also have a cultural significance as a key part of the Test of Grouse
Lifespan
15-20 years
Average Height
2 ft for males (6 ft. wingspan) to 1.5 ft. for females (with a 4 ft. wingspan)
Average Weight
11-30 lbs.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Scarlet grouse are instantly recognizabe by their bright scarlet plumage. The color is startling to look at when it's come across unexpectedly, and is nearly incandescent in any sort of light. Their heads are contrasted by a deep blue or black, and their skin underneath their feathers is pink.
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