Lyrical Fairybird

The Lyrical Fairybird is a species of songbird native to Yuriba. While the species' numbers are somewhat modest, Lyrical Fairybirds are prized for their elaborate songs and the beauty of their plumage.

Physiology

Lyrical Fairybirds are brilliantly coloured avians measuring about eleven centimeters from bill to rump, with long, oar-like tails measuring an additional seven to eight inches. Physically the birds are somewhat stocky, with long, spindly black legs and slightly curved, longish black bills. Their plumage is extremely bright; the birds are primarily green, with bands of crimson, golden-yellow, and dark violet over the shoulders; the primary feathers of the wings are of stark black and white. The feathers of the chin and underbelly are white with black flecks. The long tail is primarily green, but with four horizontal bands of either red, yellow, violet, black, and white near the end. There is great individual variation; the bands on the wings and tail can come in any order.

They are fast, darting flyers with long, sharp wings. Their diet consists mainly of seeds and occasional small insects.

Behaviour

The bird is famed for its elaborate song and its skill at mimicry, which rivals that of the outside world's Superb Lyrebird. Lyrical Fairybirds can memorize several songs at a time and can mingle them in elaborate, individualized songs. They often mimic the sound of flutes, chimes, or human laughter. Some Fairybirds can mimic the sound of waves crashing on a shore, or wind rustling through leaves. The normal song of the Fairybird is a rolling, trilling whistle similar to flutesong.

The Lyrical Fairybird is polyamorous. Individual Fairybirds have been observed seeing up to ten mates at a time. Mothers care for their eggs closely regardless of the other parent's identity, though a mother's various mates will often visit a nest and compete with each other over who can bring the nesting mother the most food or other shiny objects. They will frequently collect lilies or other small, shiny objects dropped in the Yuriba Forest and store them in their nests, which are small and wide, built in the crooks of branches within the canopy. The thicker foliage helps conceal the Fairybird's green base plumage and makes them less accessible to predators such as the Maned Hawk.

Domestication

Because of the Fairybirds' lovely singing voice, they are often kept as pets in Yuriban households. Birds raised in captivity may display a wide variety of plumages - one strain produces blue-green birds, and there are some albino examples. The coloured bands take on a wider variety of colours. Fairybirds are sociable avians and enjoy singing for their keepers providing they're well cared for and given space in which to hop or fly. A Fairybird usually requires a fairly large cage with plenty of places to perch; well-fed birds, however, can be allowed to fly around a home freely, as their affection for their keepers (mainly due to the abundance of easy food) tends to keep them from escaping. They tend to be comfortable with mates.