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Danger Level: Low
Likes: Being a bird, Screaming, Other birds, Traveling, Paint
Dislikes: Being overweighted by supplies, New people trying to touch them, Strange animals, Large flying animals
Attack Method: When a genuine fowl spots anything they believe is a threat, they fluff out their "feathers" and scream to summon nearby genuine fowls to them. If the threat refuses to back down, the genuine fowls will move as a swarm and slash the threat to death with their claws and beaks.
The true form of a genuine fowl is rarely seen. From the day it hatches to the day it dies, it wears the colors of a bird, reflecting its childhood plan to steal food. When hatched, it is born with a brown fluff, generic in looks, but in mere days it will be replaced. As it peers at its nestmates, it grows a new array of downy feathers to mimic them.
As it ages and is feed by its unknowing adopted parent, it takes a new form, mimicking its elder to keep up its act. Despite its desire to fool birds, it cannot change the way its body looks, and as the days go on, it becomes clear this is no typical bird.
In fact, it is no bird at all, but a reptile.
The neck grows longer and the body fatter. The head and most of the throat becomes replaced with small scales that vaguely follow the pattern it had before. The wings, of which it could only glide with, gain a single long claw that can be used in defense or gutting of prey. The rest of the creature's feathers are soon replaced by long solid scales that stick out from the body. Still keeping their shape, the genuine fowl gives off the appearance of a bird covered in armor.
The most distinctive feature and the one the false birds seem to show the most pride in is their large bony knob at the top of their head that gives them a helmeted appearance. It is unknown what these protrusions are used for, but it is guessed it shows the health of the reptile as scale quality is difficult to judge with the wide variations.
A paranoid yet carefree creature, the genuine fowl spends its time using its powerful legs to dig up roots, eat grass, and basking in the sun. Its keen eyes help it spot prey, which often has trouble escaping from such a large and fast creature. Known for its vermin-killing ability, it is frequently employed on farms to remove grain-consuming animals.
They are not only used as pest control but are considered popular ridable animals due to their hardiness, speed, and ability to survive in all but cold environments. Genuine fowls are amazing on all terrains. Many explorers opt to use these false birds on newly located planets where fuel sources for vehicles must be delivered by ship.
Often abandoned on planets, once constant fuel sources or trade routes can be obtained, these now invasive birds begin to reproduce. Genuine fowls observe birds' eggs in the area and create their own batches to match their size. They are unable to lay eggs smaller than three inches or larger than one foot. Small eggs have fewer chances to survive but allow the parent to make large batches, while large eggs have the opposite problem. If a genuine bird has to pick between two sizes, they will always choose the larger.
Eggs are picked up carefully in the pseudo beak of the mothers and deposited into nests. When the child hatches, it attempts its best, mimicking hunger calls and pushing other siblings to steal a meal. If hatched before its siblings, it will toss the developing eggs out of the nest, ensuring that it is the only child the parent needs to feed. The genuine fowl will follow the parent until they become unwilling to care for it anymore. If a parent expects their chicks to leave on their own, they will find themselves with an adult "chick" who refuses to leave until they spot a flock of their own kind.
Genuine fowls have extremely close group relations, often walking in unison in a flock of up to 50 members. They are able to transmit info between each other at shocking rates and engage in hunts with not a single chirp or hiss said from any member. It is believed that they communicate hunting plans via subtle movements and all other info through their nearly endless soft sounds.
The fauna became popularized by swindlers who used the reptiles to steal money off of buyers. By surrounding the "bird" with images of the babies of a much rarer bird, they can then sell them off to victims for a fortune. In bird buying and selling circles, it is always recommended not to buy an expensive chick younger than three months old. A genuine fowl chick will begin to gain the telltale helmeted appearance by three months, outing it as a fraud.
Natural: Not a true subspecies. The natural coloration only happens when a genuine fowl cannot find any valid birds to take care of its young. It appears the chick is able to tell that it does not need to change coloration when with another genuine bird. The natural color of this fauna is grey to greyish brown and covered in white spots. The neck and head scales range from blue to red depending on genetics, while the helmet color tends to match the primary color of the bird.
Flock mentality: Genuine fowls have extreme flock mentality, and if one attacks, all within hearing range will rush forward to join in, making them deadly opponents to battle in groups.
• When chasing down prey, the "fluffed up" scales of the genuine fowl contract against the body, giving them less air drag and more speed.
• Avian conspiracy theorists pointed to the genuine fowls as proof that out there exists a reptilian master race that is taking the place of birds. These people believe that if the feathers of leaders are ripped off, it'll reveal the scales hidden below.
• Admittedly, a genuine fowl did once become president of a planet, leading to a trend, but the event was on purpose, as the people voted they "Rather have a corrupt reptilian spy than a corrupted leader." The genuine fowl ran the office for six years, getting re-elected for a second term. It had 20 assistants, all members of its flock. Surprisingly the planet's economic system had balanced out in these years, attributed to a lack of corruption being pushed by the president. Nowadays, genuine fowls are voted into office as a sign of mass protest that the government is so corrupt that a giant mindless reptile could do a better job.
No art currently, maybe you can help.