Magical Pigmentation on Dragon Birds

Dragon Birds , specially those of the small type group, display a lot of different plumage colours. This often has more to do with their supposedly divine affiliation rather than the climate where they live. Let's just say that the first thing determines the latter.

Explanation of their colours

Dragon Birds are not magical creatures themselves, yet they seem to have some special connections with some deities, under which they are supposidely protected. Their divine affiliation then is shown by the colour of their plumage or the marks or symbols they display in their bodies.
For example those related to the goddess of the moon have either white plumage or dark plumage with a little crescent star drawn on their tails or neck.
The actual scientific origins of these mutations are unknown and this fenomenon among dragon birds is often related to magic. Hatchlings are often born with the color of feathers of their respective dragon bird specie so the process of adquiring their feather colours might take place inside the egg. It is also unknown if these different species could survive in each other habitats ( for example orange feathered dragon birds from Unhelion deserts in the forests and jungles of Southern Karia where dragon birds related to the moon and earth goddesses live and who are used to this habitat and viceversa).
Some of the colours displayed by the dragon birds might be related with some known conditions like melanism in the case of the Dragon Birds related to the goddess of the moon that have their bodies covered with black plumage.
Amelanism can be also behind the white plumage of the other type of dragon birds related to the moon, while Erythrism can be the reason of the red feathers displayed by the dragon birds in the arid and desertic regions.
There is no relation between size and the colours of the dragon birds, it only depends of their suppose divine afiliation and the climate and habitat they live in. It is also believe that the colours of their bodies and feathers might have some role in their mating rituals when males use the colours of their plumage in colourful dances to attrack females, just like common birds do.

How this magical condition affects their habitats

Lets take for example the aforementioned dragon birds related to the goddess of the moon. Because of their dark plumage, they can camuflate between the vegetation in the more dense forests or jungles during the day. But usually these creatures are nocturnal (thus their affiliation with the moon) and use their dark black plumage to camuflate and surprise their prays, usually lizards, mouses or other types of nocturnal creatures. Their sight is more adapted to night conditions as well as their sense of smell.
Another example could be the dragon birds living in arid or quasi desertic areas. These dragon birds are usually under the protection of the goddess of Fire ( Pyria in the Davidovian mythologies). Because of this their plumage has a more orange or redish colour, enabling them to camuflate themselves in the middle of the huge orange rock formations and canyons in places like Unhelion .

by Callyxtus

The dragon birds that live in the coldest regions, the so called Snow Dragons, also related to the moon, have bright white feathers that camouflage them with the snowy terrain in which they live, allowing them to ambush their prays and avoid being hunted down by humans if they manage to hide themselves.

A Snow dragon and her babies by Callyxtus

Type

Magical