Maze Hawk
Anatomy
Maze hawks have the typical physique of a bird of prey. They have small heads with large eyes and a yellowy/orange hooked beak. They have a wingspan of thirty feet, which is wider than a rune deer is tall. Maze hawks have an overall brownish colouration, with white and black streaks along their backs and glowing orange feathers on the undersides of their wings.
They have large, fan-shaped tails with orange tips, similar to their wings. Maze hawks have large legs that they tuck besides their bellies when flying, with giant grey talons used to pick up animals and carry them back to their nests.
Diet
Maze hawks are hypercarnivorous, while mostly being a hunter as opposed to a scavenger. Maze hawks fly directly over maze forests, where they get their name. and dive-bomb wandering animals and carry them off to their nests atop noble maze pines. Their impressive grip and strength allow them to carry even adult rune deers, which are known for being incredibly large animals, the largest in the maze forests that cover the majority of the planet.Reproduction
Maze hawks mate for life, finding said mate when they are just a year old, three months after leaving their parents nest. As a pair, they will search for either an abandoned nest or an unused noble maze pine. As a way of showing females they are worthy partners, males will construct the most sturdy, thickest, nest platform they possibly can. If a female is unconvinced, she will just fly away and search for a new mate. If she is impressed, they will work in harmony to secure a ring around the nest, making it safe for eggs and chicks.
Each nesting season, females will lay 6 eggs, rarely 1 or 2 more or less. All eggs will hatch, but it is inevitable that the chicks will fight each other for food, despite their being a plentiful amount, by attempting to push each other over the edge of the nest to fall to their deaths. If no chicks fall out after about three days, they will all give up, but if one falls out then they will keep attempting to kill the others until none die for another three or so days. Because of this, there is every chance that all chicks but one will die, or that every chick will survive until adulthood.
Habitat
Maze hawks live in cold climates, typically around maze forests. They are great flyers, and can stay in the air for several days, sometimes weeks, at a time. They form large nests on top of noble maze pines. Noble maze pines are rare version of maze pines that grow ten times as large, and are the only type of tree able to support such a large bird and their nests.Predator & Prey
Maze hawks might be predators, but they are also a prey species. Surprisingly, the animal that hunts maze hawks do not hunt for food, but instead for sport. White tigers are an intelligent apex predator that are able to climb trees, and they perch on the tops of maze pines where their fur reflects all light and turns them completely invisible, aside from their claws, eyes, and other parts that aren't fur-covered.
When maze hawks get close to the invisible predators, the white tigers will pounce on them, swipe their wings with their giant claws, and rip them to shreds - all for a bit of fun.
Nests
Maze hawk nests are some of the most breathtaking architecture on the planet. The nests are found almost on the top of the tree, where the hawks rip off the topmost leaves and branches and create a circular platform a few feet down the tree. The reason is because when the parent hawks bring back food, they drop it from a significant height and pierce it on the trunk, so the food can't fall off the nest. The nest's base is so sturdy and thick that even the largest rune deer dropped on top won't move the nest, even slightly.
The nests are found on the giant noble maze pines, which are a special subspecies of maze pine that grows very rarely. They don't grow often, due to their size, as they are ten times the size of a regular maze pine. These are the only trees on the planet that can support a nest of maze hawks, which in turn limits the population as only so many can nest.
Wingspan
30 feet/9 metres
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