Csontály

Description

The csontály or bonepeckers are a type of small, non-passerine birds that are found nearly exclusively in the Eltórián Bonelands. They are characterized by their colorful head feathers and the bone mask covering their face and beak. They also have pointed wings and the females have a white chest with a dot of color, while the males are more colorful.
They mostly eat (flying) insects. Their most common prey is the savas beetle, which is known for its ability to spray acid as a defense mechanism. This is the origin of where the csontály's bone mask comes from. It is an evolutionary adaptation that protects it from such defensive mechanisms by covering its face.

Intelligence and Behavior

The csontály are gregarious birds, which means they form colonies, usually burrows tunnelled into vertical sandy banks. There is little vegetation in the Eltóriások, so nesting in trees has never quite developed among most birds of the region.
They typically have a stable structure throughout the entire year, with colonies consisting of up to fifty nest burrows of different families. They are generally monogamous, but young males without a partner may sometimes attempt forced copulation. They are also one of the few bird species known to engage in brood parasitism, where they attempt to lay eggs in their neighbor's nests.

Geographic Distribution

• Eltórián Bonelands