Nighthawks
Nighthawks are a group of avian shifters that are characterized by their large round eyes, large wide mouths, and crepuscular-to-nocturnal habits. Owls are also included in the nighthawk group due to their close genetic relation with the other members, although they are distinct from their fellows due to their sharp, powerful talons and silent flight.
The nighthawk group includes owls, nightjars, poorwills, oilbirds, and potoos.
Basic Information
Anatomy
While there is significant variation among the nighthawk group, with different member species specializing in various ways, there are certain commonalities shared throughout the group. Nighthawks have large eyes which occupy a majority of the space in their heads and soft feathers to mute the sound of their flight in the darkness. Most nighthawks have wide mouths, although the owl species have narrower, hooked beaks. Owls are the most distinct members of the species, possessing uniquely shaped flight feathers that allow them to fly silently and much stronger talons than other group members. Nighthawks have superior night vision and hearing. Many nighthawks have ear openings that are positioned asymetrically on the head, which allows them to pinpoint whether a sound is coming from above or below them.
Genetics and Reproduction
Nighthawks are oviparous and lay eggs. All species within the nighthawk group are roosting birds and will incubate their eggs after laying. The majority of species are monogamous and take one mate for their entire lives. Most nighthawks will make sure to time their roosting period for spring or summer, when the eggs have the greatest chance of survival, but fall nesting is not unheard of in southern regions.
Growth Rate & Stages
Young nighthawks are known as squabs, and are flightless for the first year of their life. This is a period of rapid growth, where the squab will require food near constantly and will reach the size of their parents within the year. At the end of the first year of life, the squab begins fledging, or growing their adult feathers. The flight feathers may take several more months to grow properly, and the young nighthawk will typically make their first flight from the nest between two and three years of age. Like most avian shifter species, their rate of growth to adulthood is extremely rapid, and most nighthawks are considered adults when their full plumage grows in. However, they remain near the site of their birth nest for several more years before striking out on their own, unlike their simple beast counterparts.
Deterioration of eyesight is a common sign of old age in a nighthawk, leaving elderly nighthawks far more reliant on their hearing to hunt. Elderly members of the family may move their homes closer to their adult children to rely on the extended family for assistance. Since they lack the echolocation of bats, nighthawks with decreased visual acuity will need to follow a guide in flight. This can decrease the effectiveness of hunting for both parties, especially for owls, as the silent flight of an owl does not provide any auditory cues for the follower, meaning that the guide will need to deliberately make noise.
Ecology and Habitats
Nighthawks are an extremely widely distributed group, with species of nighthawks spread out across the continent of Amara. Potoos and oilbirds are near-exclusively found in southern tropical latitudes such as the Tangled Jungle, while nightjars, poorwills, and owls have a much broader distribution throughout all climate zones and latitudes of the continent.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Nighthawks are active hunters or foragers, depending on the species. Owls are the only obligate carnivores of the group, with many owl species consuming small rodents or other vertibrates like salamanders, lizards, and etc. Nightjars, poorwills and potoos are insectivores that catch their prey in flight, similar to bats. Their keen night vision and hearing allows them to track the movements of small insects in the dark. Oilbirds are the only fructivorous species of nighthawk, and have excellent color vision that allows them to distinguish between different fruits while foraging at night. Additionally, oilbirds are the only bird in the group that is known to have echolocation.
Behaviour
While they will live in society and in close proximity to one another, nighthawks are solitary and owls especially can be territorial. They are keenly intelligent, but tend to be stoic and not particularly expressive unless provoked. They are known to have quick tempers, especially when their space is violated. Nighthawks respond to threats or being startled by mantling - their feathers will rise on end and they will puff their wings out to make themselves seem significantly larger than they are.
Preening is very important to nighthawks, as it is to all avians, to keep their feathers in good shape for flying. Unlike many other species of avians, preening for nighthawks is a meditative and solitary activity, although parents will often preen their young children as their adult feathers begin to grow in, and mated pairs may preen each other depending on personal preference.
For most species of nighthawks, silence is valued above social chatter. Other species may find them to be reserved or standoffish, because they will rarely speak unless they have something important to say, and when they do speak they may come off as blunt or short. Nighthawks tend to think carefully before they speak and use the least words possible to communicate. Nighthawk relationships may appear quite distant to outside observers, because couples may spend hours or days in each other's company while rarely exchanging words. For nighthawks, this is quite normal, and spending one's time in silent contemplation is a normal state of affairs.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
The most prominent aspect of aesthetic attraction among nighthawks is plumage. Each species has its own regular pattern of plumage, and well-preened feathers with defined patterns are one of the first physical traits nighthawks will notice about one another. Large eyes are also considered attractive, with most nighthawks considering other species of avians ugly because of their comparatively "beady" eyes. Among owls, well-shaped talons that are not cracked or pitted are also considered attractive, although this is a less prominent feature among other nighthawk species.
Grace in flight and the ability to perform aerial acrobatics quietly or silently are also factors that are considered when judging another nighthawk's physical attractiveness. Clumsy fliers, or those who make excessive noise, are often avoided as romantic partners.
Gender Ideals
The majority of female nighthawks are larger than males, and females are typically considered natural leaders and keepers of generational wisdom. Both male and female nighthawks should be able to hunt for themselves, but acrobatic captures and feats of extreme aerial agility are often considered more easily accomplished by males, since they are somewhat smaller and naturally slightly more agile. When rearing children, it is more common for the female nighthawk to remain in the nest with the eggs while the male hunts, but once the eggs hatch into squabs, both parents will take turns hunting and guarding the nest. While all nighthawks can be territorial, it is considered the female's role to drive off intruders to the territory while the role of the male is to keep watch. It is therefore more acceptable for males to be louder vocally and more prone to speech than females, although excessive noise is still disturbing to nighthawks.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship is the duty of the male nighthawk, as it is his job to show that he is an attractive mate and convince a female that he is worth pair-bonding with. Courting season is one of the only times when nighthawk society can be considerd truly noisy - the traditional first step of courtship is for a male to compose a poem praising the intended female's virtues and present it aloud. Nighthawk voices can range from deep and full to high-pitched and screeching, and oral poetry traditions more closely resemble spoken word than melodic song of any kind. Sometimes, a male may enlist one or more of his family members or friends to accompany his poem with percussion, which typically means striking rhythm sticks together to emphasize certain syllables. Several poems may be composed by the male, and this stage of courtship can stretch on for anywhere from a week to a month, until the female presents her own poem in response or finally turns the male down.
When courtship begins to reach the serious stages - the female has accepted the suit and might be interested in a particular male - the gift-giving begins. Males will often hunt for their intended and present her with a freshly caught piece of prey. Other common gifts, among owls especially, include stones or gems that will attract desired energies to the female's roosting site such as protection, luck, hunting prowess, or peaceful contemplation. Males may also show off their acrobatic skills or puff out their throat plumage while presenting their gifts. Since economy of communication is important culturally to nighthawks, the female may accept a courting gift wordlessly. As long as she accepts it and brings it back into her nest, the male knows that his courtship can continue. If she rejects his gift, he might be able to try one more time before the female becomes irritated by his attentions and rejects him altogether.
Relationship Ideals
An ideal nighthawk marriage is one where both halves of the couple can spend time together in silence and still enjoy one another's company. Nighthawks are encouraged to seek mates that share similar goals or attitudes about life - an ambitious female who wants to climb the social ladder is encouraged to accept a male who might want the same, to prevent a conflict of values within the marriage. Married nighthawks may periodically reinforce their bonds with aerial dances, especially during nesting season, when nighthawks often feel uncharcteristically romantic. Otherwise, nighthawks will roost and hunt together, but may go for days without speaking to one another. Marriages where both parties can understand what each other wants without having to ask or be told are held up as the closest, strongest marriages.
Relationships betwen parents and their grown children are hardly ever as close as pair bonds, and nighthawks often treat their blood relatives only slightly more cordially than they would a complete stranger. Still, it is expected to come to the assistance of a relative in need, even if the family will promptly separate to their own individual dwellings afterward. Sibling bonds are also not strong, and even siblings raised in the same cohort might be little more than friendly acquaintances in adulthood.
Common Dress Code
In both their shapeshifted and natural forms, nighthawk anatomy makes wearing any item of clothing on the torso difficult if not impossible. The transformed wings of a nighthawk's shifted form would prevent them from putting their arms into sleeves or armholes. For ritual or ceremonial purposes, a nighthawk shaman might don a tabard that is open on the sides and slips on over the head, secured with a belt around the middle. Trousers are also not worn due to their tail feathers, which might become crushed or damaged when trying to fit them through the tailholes typical in shifter clothing. The most common articles of clothing worn by nighthawks are headbands and sashes. Headbands are often made to mimic the prominent feather tufts of great-horned owls, the most famous and respected species in the nighthawk group. These headbands are worn on top of the head and are usually made from thin birch or beech wood that is treated to be flexible and then covered with embroidered cloth or tooled leather, with feathers affixed to the top to resemble the horned owl tufts. Sashes are usually looped around the waist once or twice and then tied in the front, with the ends allowed to drape down. Both headbands and sashes are usually dyed in darker, muted colors such as blues, purples, and dark reds, to better blend with the night shadows while hunting.
Jewelry worn by nighthawks must not impede flight or shapeshifting. Since a nighthawk's hands only appear in their shifted form, nighthawks do not wear bracelets or rings, but instead favor anklets or toe rings. Anklets can be made of braided leather cord, fine chain, or polished wood. Crystals, gems, and stones are prominently found in nighthawk jewelry - they can be set into a polished wood anklet or ring or wrapped in cord or wire and hung from an anklet. Silver, gold, or bronze jewelry that is common among other shifter species does not see use in nighthawk culture because the reflective metal may be too bright during night hunts. For special occasions, polished wood talon caps might be worn as additional decoration. Necklaces are sometimes worn during gatherings or ceremonies, but young nighthawks are cautioned to always remove their necklaces before shifting and taking flight in their natural forms, since necklaces are only too easy to snag on stray branches and severely injure a flying nighthawk.
Feather painting is a common aesthetic practice among nighthawks. Similar to clothing, darker pigments are favored, and nighthawks often select the lightest section of their plumage - their light brown or white spots - as the site for painting designs. Since nighthawks don't typically wear clothing on their upper halves, the chest and belly feathers are the most common place for a nighthawk to adorn themselves with feather paint. Designs are often geometric, with abstract swirls or lines quite common, but nighthawks also frequently paint themselves with particular constellations. One common artistic motif among nighthawks is a new moon (a dark-colored circle) surrounded by seven stars, representing the seven virtues of nighthawk culture: Wisdom, patience, contemplation, silence, foresight, spiritual connection, and decisiveness.
Like all nocturnal species of beast shifters, on the occasions when a nighthawk may need to emerge during the day - such as a diplomatic meeting with a diurnal species or being summoned to court - they will often wear semi-sheer, decorative blindfolds to protect their eyes. Nighthawk knights will often own a pair of smoked goggles which can be worn while they are patrolling with integrated squads or if they must do battle in the daytime.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Nighthawks live either alone or in pairs, with adult children moving away from their parents to claim their own dwellings. Nighthawk homes are typically minimal and arboreal, with the majority of species making their homes out of a large nest structure and a thatched or oiled leather canopy built over the top, to shelter it from rain. Homes are very often open on the sides to allow for easy entrance and exit. A typical home is large enough for a mated pair to roost comfortably with enough space between them. Personal space is valuable to nighthawks, and a cramped home is an uncomfortable one. Some species like poorwills prefer to nest on the ground, and their homes are more likely to have walls, although these may simply be textiles or hides hung from the canopy, protecting the interior nest from extreme elements but still allowing easy entrance and exit. Oilbirds prefer to roost in caves, will seek out a niche or nook for their dwelling and hang a tapestry or tanned hide over the entrance.
Nighthawk society prizes seven virtues, which are taught to all young nighthawks. These seven virtues manifest in many of the cultural practices of nighthawks.
Wisdom: Nighthawks are taught to revere their elders, especially female elders, as they are considered the keepers of knowledge and cultural heritage. After leaving their birth nest, young nighthawks are strongly encouraged to travel to a temple or shrine to learn from the monks or shrine keepers. In addition, prominent families among nighthawks often maintain centers of secular learning within their territories that can be attended by young nighthawks as well as members of other shifer species. Among the beast shifter species of Aētheli, nighthawks are one of the only groups to speak fluent Kefentāt as well as their own native dialects and the lingua franca of the kingdom. All nighthawks are expected to be literate, a trait that is often uncommon among the peasant class of other species.
Patience: A young nighthawk will either be taught the value of patience by their parents in the nest, or they will learn the hard way that patience is a requirement on the hunt. Nighthawk parents will often play the "statue game" with their children, teaching them to remain motionless for long stretches of time. An outwardly calm, stoic demeanor is considered a manifestation of the virtue of patience, while allowing oneself to become emotional or exciteable is a sign that the nighthawk could stand to spend more time practicing the virtue.
Contemplation: Nighthawks believe that truths are discovered in solitude. Meditation and mindfulness are taught to every young squab in the nest, and nighthawks are encouraged to thoroughly consider their own thoughts before expressing them out loud. Many nighthawks are philosophical, with a love of considering the larger spiritual and moral questions of society. This typically manifests in the writing of poetry or philosophical texts that reflect these complex issues. Nighthawks are taught to take the time to carefully consider any newly presented argument or new knowledge, considering it from all angles. This is a solitary task, but philosophical writings are often shared among nighthawk society. Many nighthawks have a hobby of reading philosophical treatises and writing their own responses. Pursuing a crafting hobby is also a common practice among nighthawks, although many consider this to simply be something to occupy their hands while their mind considers important questions.
Silence: The majority of nighthawks are nocturnal hunters, and even the fruit-eating oilbirds have relatively quiet flight. Causing unnecessary or excessive noise is extremely rude, as is chattering on with useless small talk. Nighthawks value an economy of words, valuing clear, concise, and brief verbal communication. This can make them seem blunt or abrupt to other species of beast shifters outside their group, but within nighthawk society it is gauche to use twenty words when two will do.
Foresight: This virtue is not only about the practical consideration of planning one's actions before one takes them, but the spiritual practice of dream interpretation. Nighthawks view their dreams as messages from the spirit world, and most nighthawks keep a dream journal and will spend time in the early evening contemplating their dreams from the night before to discover any lessons or warnings that might be in them. In their everyday lives, nighthawks consider this virtue to warn against being reckless or overly risky in one's behavior, but instead to consider all possible outcomes before taking action.
Spiritual Connection: Nighthawks consider themselves to be the bridge between the world of the physical and material and the world of spirits. They believe that the animus of the world around them communicates with them through dreams and reveals signs in the stars. They are astrologers, and all nighthawks are taught the basics of star charting, horoscopes, and dream interpretation before leaving the nest. It is considered the most honorable and prestigious pursuit in nighthawk society to delve deeper into these mysteries. Many nighthawks are traveling shamans, offering their wisdom to other beast shifters, drawing up star charts and horoscopes as well as interpreting their dreams.
Decisiveness: With much of their cultural emphasis being placed on the unseen world and its mysteries, nighthawks hold up decisiveness as their seventh virtue in order to discourage nighthawks from becoming too wrapped up in solitary contemplation to take action in their lives. While every decision must be carefully considered, when a conclusion is reached, hesitation in taking action is frowned upon as a great weakness and flaw of character. Strong leadership is prized, and a leader that spends too long hearing out various different arguments without coming to a conclusion may be viewed as mentally weak for their inability to put their decisions into action.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
The main diety revered by nighthawks is known as the Many-Faced Moon. The deity is variably considered to be entirely sexless or hermaphroditic, and is seen as a shapeshifter that can take many forms. They are rarely depicted in iconography, and instead are represented by an artistic motif of two circles atop one another, one filled in and one open, representing the full and new moon. Moonlight is considered both clarifying and purifying; stones and gems, once polished, are left in the moonlight for several days to drive any conflicting energies out of the stone and clarify its purpose. Nighthawks who are conflicted or in emotional distress are encouraged to seek the moon, venturing to high perches where the moonlight can shine on them unobstructed. Nighthawk homes will feature a moon disc hanging from the ceiling - a circle of twigs woven together with feathers laid around the outside, pointing toward the center of the circle. These moon discs are considered essential in the practice of "drawing down the moon," or channeling the blessing of the Many-Faced Moon into the dwelling. Nighthawks that live according to the seven virtues are said to be blessed by the Many-Faced Moon.
Each full moon, nighthawks will travel to temples, shrines, or clearings to make offerings to the Many-Faced Moon. These offerings can be the meticulously cleaned bones of a kill, shed feathers, small pieces of stone or crystal, written prayers, or sigils. This is not typically a communal gathering, but nighthawks often linger near the spot after making their offerings to see aquaintances and family members, trade poems and other writings, and barter. Nighthawks are not the only species group that celebrates full moons, and this is a time when nighthawks trade with other beast shifter species on the outskirts of the ritual grounds.
The first thing a nighthawk typically does when waking with the dusk is to write down their dreams in their dream journal. Then, as the nighthawk goes about their day, they will contemplate the meaning of these dreams and seek out any additional omens in the stars or the world around them. When they return just before dawn, they will write their thoughts on the dream's interpretation. While every nighthawk is taught the basics of dream interpretation and astrology, more in-depth analysis of dreams or interpretation of omens is the realm of nighthawk priests, shamans, and monks. These spiritual figures use divination in various forms - the traditional Hedge Magic practice of tossing bones or runestones is common, but nighthawks also utilize scrying, especially in blown glass balls or crystal bowls filled with water. Through deep meditation, a nighthawk shaman can see visions in the glass or the water that can help guide them in their spiritual lives or reveal truths. Pendulum divination is another common practice among nighthawks, and one not only reserved for spiritual leaders, although it is commonly agreed that these experts will achieve better results with the pendulum than a layperson. Quartz of various colors is the most common stone for pendulum divination.
The most important time of the year for nighthawks is Longnight, the winter solstice. This is the only communal holiday of nighthawk culture, when nighthawks gather together at ritual sites to celebrate the time when the Many-Faced Moon is at their strongest. When the new moon coincides with Longnight, it is considered an especially auspicious sign for a prosperous new year, but if the full moon falls on Longnight, nighthawks prepare for a year of hardship. A waxing moon indicates that misfortune might come at any time, while a waning moon is a sign that the year should be an easy one. A half-moon on Longnight indicates that the spirits of the ancestors have come to join the celebration, and Longnight then becomes a festival of remembering the deceased and those who have come before. During Longnight, silence is set aside in favor of communal chants, recitations of famous poems, storytelling, and music. Feasts are prepared, and nighthawks eat their fill in preparation for the leaner months of true winter. This is a time when families reconnect and trade flows. Philosophical debates can stretch long into the night, nearly until dawn. After Longnight, nighthawks separate and return to their own individual dwellings.
Common Taboos
Most cultural taboos among nighthawks relate to disrespect or a lack of decorum. A nighthawk who is loud, boisterous, or overly emotional is socially ostracized until they behave more in line with cultural expectations. Because privacy and personal space is paramount, it is never acceptable to enter another nighthawk's dwelling without permission, even if you are family. It is also frowned upon to insist on coming inside when visiting, as most nighthawks prefer to speak to visitors on the branches or ledges outside of their nest. Flying or perching too close to another nighthawk is also gauche. Staring directly at someone is rude, but staring directly at someone who is perched too close to you is a very common social signal that personal space has been invaded and the offender should move immediately. Outright ignoring this or other common nonverbal signals is considered the height of rudeness, and it is considered fair to respond to this rudeness by knocking the offender off their perch to remove their offense.
Elders and ancestor shrines should always be treated with the utmost respect. Failing to adhere to the advice of an elder, especially a female elder, is considered a sign of extreme stupidity. Nighthawks may say of someone who repeatedly fails to take the advice of their elders or learn from their mistakes that "All the faces have turned from them," meaning the Many-Faced Moon has withdrawn all their blessings from this individual.
Knowing falsity is extremely taboo among nighthawks, especially when it comes to spiritual practices. An individual who purposefully gives a misleading or false interpretation of omens, dreams, or signs from the stars is viewed as a charlatan who disrespects the gifts of the Many-Faced Moon, and other nighthawks will withdraw from this individual and refuse to interact with them, for fear that their deceitful nature and lack of blessings will rub off on them, too. Clumsy interpretation of signs is not the same as being purposefully deceitful, but a nighthawk who attempts to overreach their own expertise out of hubris is also frowned upon for their lack of mindfulness and respect.
While bartering and exchanging of news and ideas happens on the edges of ritual spaces, once entering the boundaries of the space it is forbidden to conduct any type of business or to interrupt the quiet reflection of others during full moon gatherings. A nighthawk who openly breaks this taboo will be immediately driven out of the space, and removed by force if necessary, to prevent one of the more capricious and vengeful faces of the Many-Faced Moon from turning their way.
History
Nighthawk species, like many other nocturnal species of beast shifters, went uncontacted for some time during the Year of Blood immediately after the conclusion of the War of the Gift. Owls were the first species in the nighthawk group to receive emissaries from King Llyn Goldfire, when problems began to arise with crime among nocturnal species. The Dragonknights, the early enforcers of the realm's laws, operated diurnally and dragons typically have poor night sight, so nocturnal criminals often eluded them.
Following initial contact, one family of owls swifly rose to prominence. The great horned owls of House Moongazer of Blackside Mountain were significantly larger than any other nighthawks and had semi-crepuscular habits. Being active during dawn or dusk made them easier for the dragons to find and contact, and a swift friendship with the crown was formed, with House Moongazer pledging to keep the peace in the lower half of the Flame Mountains in exchange for semi-autonomous rule over the region. Several other families of owls were swiftly ennobled within Moongazer lands, including the screech owls of House Nightscream and the barn owls of House Starshade. Later, the snowy owls of House Snowfeather were ennobled by their overlords, House Deepwinter of Chillpine Lodge. Owls are the only species in the nighthawk group to be ennobled, but nighthawk knights are not uncommon, either as hedge knights or within one of the formal orders of knighthood in the kingdom.
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