Gimopteryx

Gimopteryx is a rare species of bird found exclusively in the dense jungles of the Span of Engletrie. Very little is known about these birds due to their reclusive nature, and the closely monitored access to the Span itself, which is home to countless predators, and frequently turns into a flood plane when storms pass over the sea.
It is believed that the Gimopteryx are descended from Sun Birds, parrot-like creatures that once inhabited the jungles of both Boxoxol and Kakaani, until they were hunted to near extinction as part of the region’s exotic exports. Confirmed accounts of the Gimopteryx are rare, but do indicate that the birds have retained many of the physical and colorful properties of the Sun Birds, but are said to be adorned with flowers and gemstones in the places of many of their feathers.
Countless expeditions to recover Gimopteryx specimens for scientific study have been launched over the years, with no known success.
An account from the end of the Listless Ages alleges that these birds can range in size from the smallest songbirds, to great beasts the size of legendary Rocs. This account details large colonies and communities of Gimopteryx living high in the trees along the Span; no two birds are identical, and the distribution of plants, gems, and feathers seems to be randomly distributed across various populations.
This account further claims that Gimopteryx is a highly intelligent, perhaps even sentient species, who are capable of rudimentary speech, and make an active choice to avoid the humanoid worlds of the Pike, Boloxol, and Kakaani. They are said to possess powerful talons with diamond-enforced tips, and strong beaks that, among the larger individuals, can break a humanoid in two.
Some scholars theorize that Gimopteryx possesses a high degree of empathy, which may have contributed largely to their seclusion. This belief is largely based on scattered reports from survivors of the Span, who widely indicated that the birds helped to bring them food, offered them directions to safer ground, and, in the account previously mentioned, even helped to rescue a humanoid from a larger predator.
All of this is, at present, speculation; further research will need to be conducted.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Sun Birds

Geographic Distribution

• Span of Engletrie

Discovered by

Holly Lothran