Birds

Finch: This is also called a songbird. It is likely that many varieties of finch can be found all over Gor, but one variety is specified by name among those of Schendi, that of the whistling finch. Finches have a conical bill adapted for crushing seeds. They exist in a vast array of colors, sizes and shapes, some crested, some tiny, some as large as doves. Most have in common the ability to sing.
Fisher: This is a water bird with a tufted variety and a white, wading Ushindi variety. They live by the waters of lakes in the jungle areas of Schendi. Fleer: This long-billed, night hunting bird is found in at least three varieties. The first is simply referred to as fleer and found in the northern forests. The jungles of Schendi are home to the long-billed fleer. The Barrens would be home to the yellow prairie fleer, also called the maize bird. Gant: There are several types of these duck-like birds. The marsh gant is a small, horned, web-footed aquatic fowl. It is broad-billed and broad-winged. Its call is a kind of piping whistle. Rence growers tame them and also eat them. The jungle gant is a bird of the rainforests related to the marsh gant. The migratory arctic gant nests in the Hrimgar Mountains in steep, rocky outcroppings called bird cliffs. Their eggs may be frozen and eaten like apples. Gim: This bird comes in several varieties. The horned gim is a small owl-like bird, about four ounces in weight that inhabits the forests of northern Gor. It migrates from the Plains of Turia late in the spring. The lang gim is an insectivorous bird that lives in the rainforests. The yellow gim also resides in the rainforests. Most gims make a throaty warbling. Gort, Hook-billed: This is a carnivorous hunting bird of the rainforests. It preys largely on rodents like ground urts. Grub Borer: A flightless bird which inhabits the ground levels of the rainforests near Schendi. Gull: Shore birds found along various coastlines. The Vosk gull migrates north in the spring. The more northern Torvalsdland gull, possibly also called coast gull, has black-tipped feathers on its wings and tail. The Schendi gull, which nests inland at night, is found on the coasts of Schendi. Herlit: This is the Gorean eagle. It is also called Sun-Striker or Out-of-the-Sun-It-Strikes, from its habit of striking with the sun above and behind it. It lives in the Barrens. It has a wingspan of six to eight feet and stands about four feet high. It is carnivorous. It has yellow feathers tipped with black. It has fifteen tail feathers which are the mostly highly prized of its feathers. They are fourteen to fifteen inches long and used by the Red Savages to mark coups. The wing, or pinion, feathers are used for ceremonial and religious purposes.The breath feathers, light and delicate, from the base of the bird's tail, are used with the tail feathers in the fashioning of bonnets and complex headdresses. Feathers from the right side of the tail are used in the right side of the headdress and the left side used in the left side. To make a headdress requires several birds. Two to five Herlits may be traded for a kaiila. Hermit: A yellow-breasted bird of the northern forest similar to a woodpecker. It bores the bark of tur trees for larvae. Hurlit, Forest: A bird that migrates from the Plains of Turia late in the spring. Jard: This bird is a scavenger, reminiscent of Earth's vultures, mentioned in various areas as feeding on carcasses. The Schendi variety is described as yellow-winged. Kite: A type of bird with a shrill call. One variety is the meadow kite that migrates from the Plains of Turia early in the spring. Lit: There are several varieties of this bird, including the common lit, crested lit, and the needle-tailed lit. They are all found in the rainforests. The crested lit is brightly plumaged with red and yellow feathers. Mindar: This bird is similar to a hummingbird. It is a short winged, yellow and red bird of the rainforests. It uses its sharp bill to dig at the bark of flower trees for larvae and insects. Its wings have adapted for short, rapid flights. Parrots: Colorful birds of the jungles of Schendi Tanager: This is a brightly plumaged bird in the rainforests near Schendi. Tarn: These are the giant riding birds of Gor, also called the Brothers of the Wind. They resemble a hawk but with a crest like a jay. They are surprisingly light for their size due to the hollowness of their bones. A tarn is an extremely powerful bird. It can fly from the ground with a spring and sudden wing flurry. Its tongue is thin, sharp and as long as a man's arm. It has a curved beak, slit with narrow nostrils. They are not migratory birds and cannot live in the cold northern regions. Tarns are diurnal and carnivorous. They eat only what they catch themselves, usually antelopes and wild bull. If enough food is available, they will eat half their weight. By the time of Renegades of Gor, tarns are being trained to eat prepared meat. They are seldom more than half-tamed and it is not unknown for a tarn to attack its own rider. Their plumage varies and they are bred for color. The most common color is greenish-brown. Black tarns are used for night raids, white for winter raids, and multi-colored for proud warriors who care not for camouflage. It is extremely difficult to fly a tarn from the sight of land. The jungle tarn is a rare bird, gloriously plumaged, from the tropical reaches of the Cartius. Tarns often are trained for specific functions. Draft tarn is used for transporting cargo while saddle tarns are used for transport of people. War tarns are used by tarnsmen in battle. Racing tarns are made for entertainment like Earth horse racing. Racing tarns are different in size, strength, build, and tendencies from most other tarns. They are extremely light so that two men could lift one. Its wings are broader and shorter permitting a swifter take-off and a capacity for extremely abrupt turns and shifts in flight. They lack the stamina of most other tarns and cannot carry heavy weight. Tibit: A small stick-legged bird found on the shores of Thassa. It feeds on small mollusks it pecks from the sand. The tibit would probably be similar to a sandpiper or a plover, commonly found on the beaches that line the shores of Earth oceans. Tindel, Fruit: Brightly plumaged bird of the rainforests near Schendi. Tumit: This is a large flightless bird of the prairie lands. It is said the Wagon People's much used bola was invented initially as a weapon for hunting this bird. This indicates the tumit is similar to rhea, a large flightless bird of the South American plains of Earth. The rhea was hunted in the same fashion by natives of those lands. Umbrella Bird: This bird lives in the rainforest. Veminium Bird: A songbird that is found in veminium fields. It has a charming song. Vulo: These are domesticated, tawny-colored pigeons raised for eggs and meat. At least some of their meat is white. Wader: Both the ring-necked and the yellow-legged varieties of this water bird inhabit the rainforest areas near Schendi. Their name comes from their wading in water while searching for food. Warbler: Songbirds of the Schendi jungle. The term “warbler” is synonymous to “singer” and applied to a species of numerous small Old World birds of Earth, most of which are noted songsters. Woodpecker: At least one variety of woodpeckers is noted. This is an ivory-billed bird that is a jungle inhabitant of Schendi. Zad: This is a large, broad winged, black and white bird with a long, narrow, yellowish, hooked beak. There is a variety found in the Tahari that is a scavenger like a vulture. There is a jungle zad in the rainforests, but it is less aggressive than the desert ones. They both like to tear out the eyes of weakened victims. Zadit: This is a small, tawny-feathered, sharp billed bird of the Tahari. It is insectivorous, feeding on sand flies and other insects. It often lands on kaiila and eats the insects on this animal. They leave small wounds on the kaiila which the drovers treat with poultices of kaiila dung.