Twinkle Birds

The locally named Twinkle Birds are a spritely themed species of hummingbirds which nest on the island of Yuriba. Known for being rainbow hued, small flocks of them live near orchards and large gardens, or wherever large amounts of fruit is grown. As they fly their wings make a distinctive whistling sound, and their rainbow coloration almost makes them seem like large lightning bugs dropping pixie dust in their wake.

Description

Twinkle Birds are a species of hummingbird that has a very rainbow themed coloration to their form. Small, about three inches in size, they are rapid fliers who can hover in place and fly with extreme agility. Their rainbow coloration gives them a distinctive glow which thanks to their speed, their transit makes a pleasant sounding hum and whistle. The birds do not vocalize, but the sounds of their flight has distinctive pitches and tone.

Habitat, Behavior, and Diet

Being hummingbirds, Twinkle Birds subsist primarily on fruit and the nectar of sweet flowers. Small flocks of the birds establish themselves by orchards and groves of trees, where they fly and often sup upon the fruit. They are also occasionally known to partake in small insects. The birds do not vocalize, rather using the whistling song of their flight to communicate, like bees dancing.

The nest is small and very difficult to spot even with such colorful inhabitants, carefully built out of lichen and moss and hidden in high nooks and crannies of tall trees that border the orchards, rarely in the fruit bearing flora itself. Averaging one to two eggs a year, the hummingbirds raise a solitary clutch before the season is over, the baby mature before the ending of the Summer season.

The birds are noted primarily in Yuriba during the fruiting season of plants in the spring and in the harvest in the summer. It is thought that their rainbow hue and intricate flight patterns are used to help find mates, with the females tending to group together among the more fantastical fliers. However, the population is small and seasonal, with the birds leaving during the period when it is cold and their sustenance does not grow.

Combative with the Lily Bee when it comes to orchard flowers, the hummingbirds are quick to retreat when confronted by a hive of bees, and most native fruit farmers still prefer the bee as a pollinator, as the bees do not eat the fruits afterwards. This has made the hummingbirds settle largely in the wilds and in otherwise abandoned orchards. However, some will plant flowers to satisfy the bees and keep interaction with the hummingbirds a bit less frequent, sighting the hummingbirds tendency to eat insects which would otherwise harm the growing fruit as their reason for acceptance of losing the few fruits the small flocks will consume.

Folklore

On a few early mornings a year, certain of the druids or more attuned to nature women of the island can get up early enough to catch the dawn when the growing season is fresh, and catch the birds fresh with the morning dew dancing off their wings as they fly on by making rainbows in the air with their passage. It is considered quite a romantic moment for many, despite the birds recent appearance on the island and little historical mention of them. It is believed that they have come from one of the rare universes which has a persistent connection to Yuriba, though no one has been able to follow the birds when they leave, some saying them seem to simply disappear with the rising of the first Autumn sun.