Species Information

Height: 1 foot 10 inches  to 3 feet at the shoulder

Weight: 130-300 lbs

Lifespan: 75 years

Clutch Size: 1-4

Gait: A long, loping stride. 

Diet: Lowlands are opportunistic carnivores; they primarily eat meat and fish, but they also enjoy spicing their diets up with berries, tubers, and the cultivated plants they trade with humans for. 

Behavior: Lowlands are most often living in low lying scrublands with pockets of forest and stretches of plains. Many lirse retain their distant ancestors’ affection for digging, so most colonies tend to live in burrows or the occasional natural cave, but a few colonies have taken up the art of home-building and live in maze-like settlements. 

     They tend to be welcoming with their own kind but are more standoffish around others. 

     They live in close-knit communities, with each lirse playing their part to help the rest.

Vocalization: Like their cousins the birds, lirse are capable of making and mimicking many kinds of sounds including clicks, chirps, buzzes, and even human speech. They primarily communicate amongst each other with clicks and chirps, but may include human words and phrases if they don't adapt vocal speech entirely. 

Development

Baby lirse are known as kits, and they emerge from their eggs covered in downy protofeathers.

0 to 24 days: They are unable to walk, but can crawl by day 5. Their eyes are closed, but they have a good sense of hearing and touch. They tend to pile close to their siblings and parents for warmth. Their parents make a paste of easy to digest proteins and plant matter and the babies lap this up. Ears are flopped.

~24 to 35 days: Their eyes begin to open and eyesight begins to develop by day 25. They begin to stand and walk on their own, and are capable of babbling.

~5 to 7 weeks: Kits are ready to leave the nesting area for short periods and are much more steady walking. Ears begin to stand up after a week or so. Pin feathers begin to come in on their tail tips, crests, and arms, which will develop into juvenile proper feathers a few days after that. Downy protofeathers begin to be replaced by more fur-like ones. They are still awkward and adolescent looking, but are ready to be left alone for periods of time while parents hunt. Language is roughly at the level of a human toddler.

~7 to 16 weeks: Kits begin to follow adults on hunting trips before returning to the den. Adult eye color comes in and fur-like feathers poke through kit down. Adult teeth have come in and they can eat solid foods. Language is equivalent of an 8 year old human.

~15 to 28 weeks: Rapid growth spurt; kits now look like adults and are ready to join in, rather than simply follow, hunting parties by the end of this period. By the end of this period, speech will be fully developed.

~27 weeks to 3 years: Kits may continue to slowly grow until they're around three years old. At this age, adult plumage grows in, and colors develop to their mature hues.

Breeding Information

Male lirse (also called hobs) occasionally have fuller crests and flashier feathers, as they once needed these to gain the attention of their female counterparts (also called sprites). Females build the nest, but may receive assistance from friends or romantic partners. It’s not uncommon for nests to be cleaned and reused, and they are in guarded spots of the colony’s home.

Courtship often involves gift-giving, usually food and/or nesting materials, as well as dances that display the male’s feathers and show off his stamina. In the past, only the most impressive males got mates, but these days, females may choose males they have bonded emotionally with and courtship dances are more out of tradition than necessity. Breeding is most common in February so that kits arrive for the plenty in spring, but may happen year round.

After a pair has coupled, the female retreats to the nest where she lays her clutch. She carefully rests on them to keep them warm, and in some colonies other females or even males will help share this task. The mother often clicks and coos to her brood and, once they are close to hatching, they begin to respond from within their eggs.

During brooding, the father often brings the mother food, but in colonies where brooding is shared, she’s able to leave to feed herself and others may bring food to her. Incubation typically takes about four months.

Depending on the colony and individuals, the kits may be raised by the parents, by the parents and their friends, or by the wider community. Kits reach sexual maturity around three years old.