Acid Bellow

Giant terror birds of the Dry Reef

Acid bellows are large, flightless birds that roam the Dry Reef of Talerin. They are famous for releasing clouds of acidic gases from the large pouch on their necks.

Anatomy

Their heads are large compared to its body size, and they are covered in large armour pieces, that greatly resemble a skul. Their head is long and thin, with the back of the head ending in a spike. Their lower jaw armour piece sits neatly inside its upper jaw, which extends downwards in a strap shape round the lower jaw. Along the long neck is a red sail; its purpose is somewhat unclear, but it is believed to be to attract mates. Acid bellows have legs that are longer than their necks, and a lack of fatigue allows them to run forever without tiring. They have a large, bushy tail, with many rounded yellow feathers with purple dots. The bright colours deter predators, letting them know of their gas breath. Acid bellows have bright yellow feathers, with striking purple and red stripes.

Diet

Acid bellows are the biggest carnivorous bird on Talerin. They mostly consume large herbivores and many other animals. Millions of years ago, they were a Ukari Person's only natural predator. Since females are bigger, and therefore stronger, they go out hunting more often, while the male stays at the nest looking after eggs, unless there aren't any then the male may join the female hunting. The birds use their gas to suffocate the prey, billowing it out of their mouths which unhinge at almost 150º angles. The gas is a bright pink, which seems to be attracted to larger heat signatures, and when the heat dies off the gas dissipates. The gas enters the prey's lungs, blocking oxygen from entering, and suffocating them to death. Luckily, the bird's body is immune to the gas, and filters exist in the trachea that prevents the gas from getting further into the lungs.

Reproduction

Acid bellows mate for life, finding this mate occurs when the bird is about 3 years old. The birds lay large purple eggs in well hidden caves and cracks in the dry reef during Er'aes. The male will protect the eggs with its life, while the female goes out looking for a large prey to kill and bring back to the eggs, such as camelcoats or, if they're lucky, talerin sandworm. The female uses its strong head to drag the prey back to the nest, and the female and male feasts on it while the eggs are incubating, so they can spend more time with the eggs. The females also kill and bring back carcasses when the eggs are hatched, for the babies to eat as much as they can.

Habitat

Acid bellows live in the Dry Reef of Talerin. Generally avoiding society, they live far inland where it is too dangerous for the Ukari People to explore. The birds like to be close to watering holes and rivers, where they can drink, bathe and cool down. Acid bellows create their nests underneath large trees, most of the time sandal trees that have a large shaded area underneath.

Adaptations

Acid bellows have exceptional hearing. The large holes in their heads funnels in sound from all around into their earholes. The only problem is when the sound gets funneled in the bird cannot locate where it came from, so they have to use their eyes to locate them, which is slightly difficult since they don't have the best eyesight.

Acid bellows are most famous for their gas that is released from the sac on their throats, but they are named after the poison that is released from the tail. This poison is corrosive and extremely dangerous, it is released when the bird is agitated, and swings its poison coated tail around. If the poison is then gotten on you, you immediately need to run it under water, wiping it off, otherwise your skin will corrode, burn and peel off.

Tak'are

The Tak'are War was a war fought by the Ukari People against a race of highly intelligent acid bellows. The only, and most brutal, war on Talerin, it lasted 3 years and caused the acid bellow subspecies to go extinct.

Start Date
1204
End Date
1207

Battle of Mak'hala

The first battle, the battle of Mak'hala, took place along the Outer Sector walls. Guards were armed with large shields, spears and bows. Somehow, the acid bellows were able to fling their acid over the wall and cover the guards, so the guards were given large round shields that could withstand, or at least block the acid. The birds could not get over the wall, so after a few days of stop and start fighting, the they retreated back into the Dry Reef.

Battle in the Dry Reef

The biggest battle took place in the Dry Reef. It was the last battle that took place, the smarter acid bellow population had shrunk to only a few dozen. A troop of a hundred soldiers were sent out of the city and into the Dry Reef in search of the birds to terminate them. The battle began 13 hours after the soldiers had left the city, when they were deep in the reef. The birds had been watching the soldiers enter the reef and slowly closed them into a small flat area where they could be picked off. Once the birds were in viewing distance from the soldiers, the soldiers formed a ball with their shields that was practically impenetrable by the birds. While the birds thought they had captured the soldiers, the soldiers had actually used magic to raise a line of earth around them to form an arena where the soldiers slaughtered every last one of the acid bellows. To prove they had won, they brought back the severed head of one of the birds to the ruler and placed it above the throne.

Prelude

A subspecies of acid bellow had been evolving to become more intelligent; their heads larger to fit a more complex brain. They had targeted the Ukari People and would prey on those who left the city of Tak'are. The acid bellows got smarter and smarter, and they would destroy any defences set up by the Ukari People around the city.

Lifespan

50 years

Average Height

3.2 - 3.5 metres

Average Weight

450kg

Geographic Distribution

• Dry Reef
• Talerin

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