Baggi/Great Baggi Ecology

Social pack-hunting Bird Wyverns distinguished by their forwards-pointing cranial crests and predominantly grayish-blue hide and scales. They have some yellow scales on their flanks and tufts of fur on certain parts of their body such as their head, back and tail. Unlike the closely related Jaggi, their tails are fan-like and are designed to stun prey with a blow to the head. Females and immature males are known as Baggi, while mature males are known as Great Baggi. Being the leader of the pack, Great Baggi are much larger in size and have a more developed crest. As in the other species of social Bird Wyverns, each pack is only led by one alpha male and male Baggi are chased away when they mature to look for another pack to usurp.

Baggi and Great Baggi inhabit the freezing Tundra, where their blue hide and scales serve as camouflage and [their larger size compared to their close relatives help them retain heat.] Due to living in this harsher environment, they have also evolved to possess tougher hides than that of Jaggi and sacs that produce sedative compounds. When hunting, they will mix these compounds with their saliva and spit it onto their prey to put them to sleep before literally eating it alive. As food is harder to come by in their frigid arctic habitat, this adaptation to reduces the chances of prey escaping. To bring down their main prey of Popo, Baggi work cooperatively under vocal orders issued by the Great Baggi. They also feed on smaller Herbivores, Bullfango, Neopterons, Giggi and carrion scavenged from the kills of larger wyverns.

Being relatively low on the food chain, Baggi have to be vigilant against the larger monsters inhabiting the Tundra. Usually, their speed and agility coupled with their tranquilizing spit provide an effective defense. Adult Gigginox can turn the tables on the Baggi, as they are extremely protective of their Giggi offspring and will eat any Baggi wandering through the caves they inhabit. 

As mentioned above, Baggi are closely related to Jaggi, as well as Wroggi.

Jaggi/Jaggia/Great Jaggi Ecology

Social pack-hunting Bird Wyverns easily distinguished by the pair of ear-like frills they sport on the sides of their head. Their pack hierarchy is divided into three castes: the small immature male Jaggi, the medium-sized female Jaggia and the large mature male Great Jaggi.

Jaggi are primarily orange in colour with lavender scales present on their head, frills, parts of their forearms and as a stripe running down their backs. Their roles are to patrol the outskirts of the territory, inform the pack about intruders, hunt small prey to feed the pack and assist the Great Jaggi while hunting larger prey. They have short blunt spines protruding from the sides of their tails which can be used to attack prey or defend themselves when threatened.

Jaggia have more lavender scales completely covering their backs and tail, with somewhat fewer orange scales which cover their sides and legs. Unlike the males, their frills are more subdued and hang limply from their heads. Instead of spines, their tails are adorned with fur running down their undersides. This downy fur is present on their bellies as well and is most likely used to incubate their young. Jaggia are responsible for guarding the nest and raising whelps. [To act as effective nest guardians, they are bulkier than Jaggi and even the females of the closely related Wroggi and Baggi, as they do not produce toxins or sleep-inducing compounds and thus have to rely solely on their increased muscle mass and strength. They also lay larger eggs than Baggi and Wroggi which allow more developed whelps to be hatched, shortening the amount of time needed for them to mature into Jaggi and Jaggia.]

Great Jaggi are mostly lavender in colour, only having a single orange stripe running down each side of their bodies and another tangerine stripe on the edges of their frills. Besides that, they have a white mane on their necks and a ridge of white fur running from their backs to their tail, which retains the blunt spines present in juvenile males. As the leader of the pack, Great Jaggi have the most prominent frills. *If their frills are destroyed, they lose all their dignity as a leader and a male.* Each pack is only led by one Great Jaggi at a time, so as Jaggi mature they are chased away to look for another pack to usurp. They have large hooked claws on their forelimbs, [though since they are not used in hunting prey, it is speculated that they use them to fight each other.] Multiple Great Jaggi may fight each other for the control of a pack, and many have been seen with wounds and scars on their bodies. Being the most powerful member of the pack, they lead Jaggi in hunting large herbivores such as Aptonoth using complex vocal commands and protect the pack from major threats such as other wyverns.

Typically, Jaggi are found in numerous locales from deserts to grasslands to forests. However, they are absent from dense jungles, volcanic areas and frigid arctic habitats. On their own, Jaggi hunt small prey such as fish and Kelbi, but under the leadership of a Great Jaggi they can bring down larger herbivores such as Aptonoth and Rhenoplos. [For large prey that they cannot bring down quickly, they utilize a persistence hunting technique where they chase prey over fairly long distances in order to wear them down before cornering the exhausted prey and killing it. This technique may not be as effective in rainforests with thick vegetation, which explains their absence in those areas.] *At a kill, Great Jaggi always eat first, Jaggia eat second and Jaggi eat last.* Some theorize that this is the reason for the disparity in size between the three castes, [or alternatively the behavior may result from the size disparity itself.] Carrion scavenged from the kills of larger monsters also constitute a major part of their diet.

Being relatively low in the food chain, Jaggi have to be wary of other carnivores as their flesh is relatively high in nutritional value. Despite that, their speed and agility acts as a deterrent to larger predators. 

Hypnocatrice Ecology

Feathered Bird Wyverns with orange and brown plumage that mostly scavenge on carrion with their sharp hooked beaks, which have two fang-like projections on the lower jaw. Despite their bird-like appearance, Hypnocatrice do not use their feathers for flight and possess membranous wings that are covered in a layer of downy feathers. It is even suspected by some that Hypnocatrice are misidentified Flying Wyverns as their wings are quite different from other Bird Wyverns. Five large display feathers that resemble a fan can be prominently seen on their back and many smaller display feathers can be found at their tail tip as well. While much of their body is feathered, their head, nape, legs and parts of their wings remain bare. Their name comes from their ability to produce and spit a volatile sleep-inducing substance.

Hypnocatrice are primarily found in lush tropical and temperate forests but have also been encountered in desolate desert areas. Although they prefer to feed on carrion most of the time, they are omnivorous and can feed on just about anything. They are known to feed on fish, small animals, insects and many different kinds of plants.*In fact, they actually obtain their signature sleep-inducing compounds from certain foods such as Sleepyfish, Sleep Herbs and insects.* When hunting to feed their offspring, they might put their prey to sleep before carrying it back to their nest, but generally their strong legs are already sufficient in helping them chase down and kill prey. Lacking teeth, they swallow pebbles and grit to help them crush and grind the food in their stomach. These gastroliths may be introduced to a Hypnocatrice at the moment of its birth and mature along with it to become a prized "Hypno Bezoar". The stone's ceramic appearance possibly comes from a combination of the Hypnocatrice's hypnotic fumes and weak stomach fluids, which could have formed a whitish solution that solidifies on the bezoar.

Quite pacifistic by nature, Hypnocatrice prefer to put enemies to sleep and run from the fight. While usually timid, when angered they may also viciously kick and slash sleeping foes with their powerful legs and sharp claws in an attempt to make them leave their territory. Besides that, they can also use their tail as a weapon while fighting. If enraged, they will erect the large feathers on their back to look more threatening.

During the mating season, the feathers of mature male Hypnocatrice will turn a brilliant shade of blue and magenta and they will perform mating dances to attract females. These individuals become known as Breeding Season Hypnocatrice to differentiate them from normal Hypnocatrice, as they become more aggressive during this period.

Gypceros/Purple Gypceros Ecology

Omnivorous Bird Wyverns with scaleless stocky bodies covered in a blueish-gray rubbery hide. Their most prominent feature is the lamp-like crest atop their heads. Other unusual features include the peg-like teeth in their jaw and the shape of their beak, which extends upwards much like a nose horn. Besides that, their pink tails have a bulbous tip and can extend to whip enemies due to the elastic properties of their skin.

Gypceros are Bird Wyverns that feed on just about anything, though they particularly favour insects like Flashbugs and Thunderbugs along with mushrooms. Hunters have reported Gypceros mistaking shiny objects in their inventory such as crystals and ores as their food, which leads to the Gypceros chasing them and stealing the items. Although they have been sighted in open fields and forests, they prefer to inhabit dark, humid areas such as swamps, marshlands and caves where their food sources are most commonly found. Their rubbery hide may be an adaptation to their diet and preferred habitats, protecting them from the electrical shocks emitted by Thunderbugs and the predatory Khezu which dwell in caves. As a consequence, Shock Traps are also ineffective on them. [Additionally, their bioluminescence may be an adaptation to living in dimly-lit areas as well.] By clapping their beak and luminous crest together, they are able to generate blinding flashes of light to disorient and blind enemies, [which may be especially effective in dark areas.] The crest is made of either ore or Lightcrystals and varies between different individuals. Being immune to their own flashes, Flash Bombs also have no effect on them. When enraged, their crest will flicker repeatedly and the patches of skin surrounding their eyes will also flush red. During the mating season, males will shine and flash their crests to attract females to their nests. They will also collect shiny objects to impress females.

Gypceros are well-known for spitting poisonous saliva from their poison sacs in self-defense. Their hides resist toxins and poisons, and it is theorized that symbiotic bacteria living on them are responsible for this. Gypceros have even developed mutually beneficial relationships with certain plants which even require Gypceros venom to grow. [These plants produce fruits that Gypceros enjoy feeding on, so Gypceros will spit their poison around them to kill off competing plants while fertilizing them. These plants also rely on Gypceros for spreading their seeds around through their droppings.]

Being the largest and heaviest Bird Wyverns known, Gypceros are sometimes considered to be Flying Wyverns. They have stubby wings and are rather poor flyers, but make up for it by having strong legs which even allows them to run on walls in certain cavernous areas. They contain Dash Extract in their bodies, which allows them to move around without expending much stamina. Despite their size, they are the favoured prey of the Temnoceran known as Nerscylla, which has been observed to feed on Gypceros trapped in their webs and skin their hides for use as a crude form of armour to protect themselves.

Being timid but intelligent, Gypceros occasionally exhibit thanatosis when confronted by threats. They play dead to fool enemies into approaching them, then thrash around to injure them. This behavior is more commonly observed when they are exhausted. Some hunters are sent back to fight the Gypceros they supposedly killed when this occurs.

Gypceros has a subspecies known as Purple Gypceros that tends to live in hotter, more tropical environments although they can be found in all of the same habitats as normal Gypceros. [As large predatory monsters are more common in warmer areas, they have possibly evolved to produce more toxic poison to adapt.] They are also better at defending themselves, being more resilient and stronger than normal Gypceros. Their hide has a more vivid purple colour and their tails are green in colour as well, [probably serving as aposematic colouration to warn predators of their higher toxicity.] Besides that, they use their flashing attacks more frequently in battle and will chain other attacks directly into it.

Yian Garuga Ecology

Predatory Bird Wyverns covered with with dark purple tinted shells and scales, along with large defensive spikes on its head and back. Besides being used to scoop up smaller prey like a shovel, its large pointed beak is extremely sharp and able to cut through the flesh of other monsters. The lower beak is larger and has a jagged edge compared to the smooth upper beak. Other notable external features include its pointed ears, tufts of white mane and venomous tail club.

The violent, warlike nature of Yian Garuga makes them one of the most, if not the most feared and dangerous Bird Wyvern species. Such is their aggression that they enjoy picking fights with random monsters just to test their strength. In fact, they are often observed to be missing an ear and/or an eye from fighting so much with other monsters. Yian Garuga are mostly solitary creatures, though they have rarely been seen in pairs possibly during the mating season, and groups consisting of more than two have been seen on certain islands.

Besides Neopterons such as Konchu, Yian Garuga's diet consists of any other monster it can kill, along with carrion. They hunt for Herbivores such as Aptonoth and other Bird Wyverns such as Velocidrome and Velociprey, [though they are not as well adapted to hunt larger prey compared to exclusively carnivorous predatory wyverns.] *Yian Garuga are somewhat poor at locating ground-dwelling Neopterons compared to Yian Kut-Ku, so they often observe where Yian Kut-Kus find their prey and steal their territory. Due to their poor parental behavior, Yian Garuga are even facultative brood parasites of Kut-Ku, as a female Garuga will sometimes destroy the eggs in a Kut-Ku's nest before laying its own.* [Yian Garuga also abstain from killing Kut-Ku during the mating season to prevent killing Kut-Ku whose broods they may have parasitised.]

Yian Garuga are share a similar distribution with Yian Kut-Ku, being found in jungles, temperate forests and swamps. However, they are occassionally found in volcanic areas such as the Volcanic Hollow. It has been suggested that these Yian Garuga may be migrating to follow Yian Kut-Ku or they may be looking for monsters to fight.

In terms of hunting behavior, Yian Garuga sometimes choose to hunt at night where their dark coloration makes them more difficult to spot. Their eyesight is good enough for them to hunt in the dark and their large ears give them excellent hearing. Unlike Kut-Ku, they are not startled or disoriented by loud noises. When hunting, they often stab and peck at prey with their beaks, or envenomate prey with their tail spikes, which respond to shocks by secreting venom. They are nimble enough to perform backflips to whip their tail in front of them when attacking prey, similar to a Rathian. However, unlike Rathian, the venomous thorns on their tails are arranged in such a way that they can also envenomate other monsters while whipping their tails sideways. [This is probably a defensive adaptation as they are physically frailer than many larger wyverns. Besides that, the large spines on their head and back,] together with their white manes and large ears, make them appear more intimidating to larger wyverns. Other notable characteristics include possessing the toughest shells of any Bird Wyvern, and powerful flame sacs on par with that of some Flying Wyverns. Similarly to Rathian and Rathalos, their mouths will constantly burn with fire when enraged. 

Yian Garuga are noted to be especially crafty and are known to observe opponents rationally even when angered. Hunters have reported that they will avoid pitfall traps, especially when enraged. Even if they are caught in pitfall traps, their strong legs give them high agility and allow them to escape quickly. The sharp claws on their feet also cut through the traps with ease. Besides that, they will use their supersonic roars to stun more evasive prey like Velocidrome as well as their opponents while in combat.

Just as in their close relatives Yian Kut-Ku, four-toed variants of Yian Garuga which are probably recent mutations have appeared and are becoming more and more common. In the New World, the Yian Garuga there have possibly evolved more well-developed wings potentially allowing them to be more agile in the air. Special Tempered Scarred Yian Garuga in the New World which have lost an eye and an ear after surviving a battle are even able to rapidly fire multiple fireballs in quick succession while airborne.