Kenku - The Mimics

Kenku are rare humanoids descended from birds, They have the scrawny body of birds, with beaks, and feathers. Each are intelligent and can mimic many different calls, and noises fooling many people. Each Kenku prefers to live away from other more powerful beings.
As a species the Kenku desire one more than life itself, and that is the power of flight. When they were a young species, they were able to fly, but lost this millennia ago, due to a curse put on them by the gods. This was due to them stealing secrets & shiny baubles from the Seven Heavens, and flying to the Material Plane with these. Thus the curse was enacted. From then on each Kenku looks to get this ability back.
They originated in Asia, somewhere in Manchuria and view this as their overall birth place. Now they have spread over the majority of that region, with a few making it to the Middle East, and the odd one into Europe. Their secretive nature makes it easy for them to hide during travel along the Silk Road. They have a few talents that mark them out useful to others. They have an ability to forge documents like no other, carry out stealth based missions such as theft & assassinations, and no fear of height. This obviously draws them into contact with thieves & assassin guilds where such exist. Also, they speak in an abstract way describing their moods & other information by sounds, what they saw or other such ideas. Many other races find this infuriating but all the same, handy for passing messages that they don't want to be overheard & understood, at least not by anyone who doesn't understand this method of communication.
Very few Kenku take up any profession outside roguish endeavours, considering their weak frames, and difficulty with both working magic, and their lack of trust when it comes to gods.