Greatcrest Phoenix
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Greatcrest Phoenix is a large species of predatory bird. Greatcrests are heavy set with great deals of muscle in their chests, wings, and legs, making them extremely capable hunters and able to quickly gain speed. Their heads are robust, giving them powerful bites, aided by a pair of barbed 'teeth' near the front of the beak, that can easily grip and slice through flesh, capable of breaking small bones. Greatcrests also have extremely long neck in comparison to raptorial birds, allowing them to attack animals inside of burrows, crevices, and tight spots that would ordinarily be unavailable. Their large talons and powerful legs also make them adept diggers.
The chest feathers of these birds are long and wispy with a much lower density than elsewhere on the body. Paired with their large mobile crests, these phoenixes can easily regulate their temperature during the hottest parts of the day by puffing out their feathers, allowing body heat to escape. This is especially important in their native environments, which are often deserts, scrublands, and badlands.
Greatcrests also display sexual dimorphism. Females are typically tan, orange, brown, and beige with black and white banding, while males are a stark black with green iridescence to their feathers with red, brown, gold, and gray patterning.
Genetics and Reproduction
Greatcrests reach maturity around 10 years of age and bond for life. While not aggressive per se to other mated pairs, they do defend their nesting spaces during nesting season and will chase off other members of their species away from their eggs and hatchlings. Mated pairs will typically breed in late fall, constructing their nests from clays, silt, and mud on cliff faces and fire them with their flames. Typically, they will breed every other year, laying between 3 and 5 eggs. It is commonly expected that roughly half of all wild nests will hatch, with typically one hatchling per nest reaching maturity. Eggs hatch roughly 42 days later, with one parent always present at the nest and using their flames to keep it warm while the other hunts, taking turns in cycles.
Greatcrests will generally reach adult size around 3 years of age, all time prior to that they stay with their parents and are taught how to hunt and survive for themselves. Around 3 years old, subadults will begin to wander further from their parents' range, but still typically stay within a few miles, gradually expanding out. Once they reach sexual maturity and find a mate of their own, they will typically leave the immediate area they were born. Curiously, it is not uncommon for Greatcrests to form groups when their mate dies, often returning to their parents, a sibling, or offspring when left alone. As they often do not take on new mates when one dies, it is thought that this behavior is caused by the loneliness of losing a mate, and still allows them to carry on assisting rearing offspring, even if not their own.
Ecology and Habitats
Greatcrest Phoenixes are native to the scrublands, deserts, and arid regions of the Middle East, Western Asia, and Southeastern Europe. They do not fair well in colder conditions and are rarely seen in woodlands and wetlands. They prefer large open areas with large rock outcroppings, caves, and cliffs. Low humidity is also very important for the birds to maintain proper health, as they are quite susceptible to respiratory infections, skin infections, and improper feather growth in humid areas. High humidity paired with cool and wet conditions can be incredibly dangerous for these birds, as they are adapted to shed as much body heat as they can when overheated, rather than conserve it. If wet and cold, the birds can very easily die from hypothermia.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Greatcrests primarily feed on burrowing mammals, reptiles, and small birds and other phoenixes. Primarily, the raptors hunt by sight, tracking burrows and returning to them repeatedly to check for activity. When they have found an occupied burrow, they will often wait outside of it, often on a cliff, tree, or rock, and swoop at their prey before it has a chance to escape underground. If that fails, the Greatcrest will often reach into the burrow with its head to pull prey out. In deeper burrows, they may dig their prey out until they can catch it. They are also avid predators of pigeons, doves, and other birds that nest in cliffs, caves, and along crevices, using similar tactics to attack them. When hunting smaller phoenixes, Greatcrests are known to corner them in their nests and dig the smaller birds out of them. Due to good acceleration speed, they are known to be able to chase down many faster species before they can get to full speed.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Mated pairs with tolerance to their own kind.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Although not fully domesticated, the species has been bred in captivity for thousands of years, often used as falconry birds and hunting companions. They were prized for hunting Phoenix-Kites, however since the extinction of the species, are instead often used to hunt other birds and released Pygmy Phoenix-Kites. Some regions will also use Greatcrests to hunt larger game and herd animals by swooping at them in order to flush them into the open. So called 'Shepherd Greatcrests' are highly trained as to not actually attack livestock, but instead startle them. This is most often used in regions where herding dogs are impactable, such as along cliffs and ridges. Due to their lack of camouflaged, males are more common for shepherding and females more common for hunting, as they blend in with their environments much better, making ambushes easier.
Greatcrest Phoenixes are also nicknamed the "Bird of Kings", as they are commonly kept by nobles and members of the upper class, in many regions being gifted to royalty as a sign of loyalty, great wealth, and power as a status symbol. The most prized birds for this purpose are a mated pair- the ideal birds are a female with higher degrees of white banding on her feathers and a male with very little pattern and high iridescence, with both birds being proven breeders. Both birds should be in excellent health with great feather quality and grooming.
While certainly not the cheapest bird to keep in captivity, their care is not difficult for those with the time and resources. Greatcrests will require large areas to fly and any holding cage when not free-roaming or in a large coop will have to be at minimum 10 by 10 by 6 feet, to allow the birds to full stretch their wings and move around. These holding cages will require food, water, large perches, a nesting box, and toys to keep them entertained. Bored, stressed, or sick birds are prone to plucking their feathers and being destructive, such as biting, chewing on their cage, and potentially attacking one another. They should also never be housed in the same space as other bird species due to their high prey drive- Cohabitation with other species is a recipe for disaster, a dead pet, and a freshly fed Greatcrest. Despite their large size and need for expensive feed of raw meat, the species is often favored in many regions as a pet due to that they are not as loud as parrots and do not make earsplitting alarm calls, instead often being described as cooing or purring at most.
Average Intelligence
Highly intelligent, easily trained
Origin/Ancestry
Natural
Lifespan
25 years (wild), 45-60 years (captive)
Conservation Status
Least Concern / Semi-Domesticated
Geographic Distribution
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