Av'kin

Ak’vin are large flying creatures native to the high-gravity planet Enkor.

Appearance

Ak’vin tend to be quite large, with wing spans of the smaller species being no less than 24 inches from wing tip to wing tip with the larger species' wingspans being much larger.
They have long necks, narrow heads, and long beak-like mouths. They have short taloned legs and long thin arms ending in short hooklike claws that they use for climbing. Their wing membrane is made up of thin skin and reaches along the sides of their body from the end of their arms to their ankles. They have strong chest and back muscles to help them take off into the air from the ocean.
They also have hollow bones and air sacks in their lungs which help make them lighter and easier to move around on the high-gravity planet.
They tend to be grey with small spots of green and blue, coloring believed to help them blend into the cliffs and the ocean where they live.

Biology

Diet

Av’kin are carnivorous and mostly eat fish that they catch from the ocean near where they nest.

Behavior

Av’kin are mostly coastal dwellings, nesting in cliffs in groups with a hierarchy where the largest among them becomes the leader. They tend to live in groups of around fifteen, with some flocks having up to thirty members.
They dive off of the cliffs to take off into the air, utilizing the thick atmosphere and the planet's gravity to take off. They require a good amount of space to take off from the water and have strong wing and shoulder muscles to help with this. After taking off, they tend to mostly glide and utilize air currents to travel around rather than flapping their wings.
Av’kin build nests on the cliffs they live on, making them out of the mud and other materials they can gather. They lay eggs in these nests with the female brooding over the eggs and the male defending and being highly protective of the nest and young. After the young are hatched, the mother tends to be the one to go out and catch food for the babies while the father stays and protects the nest and later goes and gets their own food when the mother is home.

Uses

Av’kin are wild and not domesticated in the slightest, they do tend to be watched by tourists and animal watchers who find them fascinating, with one of the popular sights for watching them being the Sek Pra Cliffs.

Planet of Origin 
Enkor