#i like red-tailes and harris hawks | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chloefraazers · 3 months

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Can I ask why you chose what animals you did? A lot make sense but some are surprising! Fitting but not ones I ever would have thought of? Like a crocodile for Zo, I never would have connected that.

i apologise in advance because this isn’t going to be a short answer

so tumblr cut off my tags which basically said some were based on symbolism/mythology, some based on behavioural characteristics, some just vibes. for a more detailed breakdown…

please note that i googled and googled and googled, all the stats i pulled are searchable.

also many of these were brainstormed with cor ( @thunderjawsandlightning ) as it’s a similar concept to her dæmon au fic in the works!

aloy

overall for aloy i really wanted to lean into how npcs who’ve never met her typically recognise her: her red hair. it was important that all of her morphs have that attribute in some way.

ethiopian wolf: an extremely rare wolf that lives in packs of six or more. social, but typically hunts alone. i liked these commonalities with aloy. plus, their beauty and rarity made them my top pick.

red kite: gonna be honest and say this one was a vibe. the red kite was actually suggested by arbee on twitter for beta, but the second i saw it, it screamed aloy.

red fox: i could talk about foxes in mythology being perceived as clever but really… it’s hard to picture anything else.

nil

timber wolf: while nil has a bit of a “lone wolf” lifestyle in hzd, he always calls aloy his partner, and lives among machine racers in hfw. he is a social guy, he’s just… weird. the thing about a wolf morph for nil is that his primary weapon would be his teeth (and we know he’s got a thing for teeth); it forces him to get up close to his enemy in a way personal and intimate to understand the impact of death, and truly respect it. other than fighting style, wolves are social, have a playful nature in their family groups, and are monogamous.

harris’ hawk: i debated over this guy or the bearded vulture, because it dyes its feathers red. but i went with the hawk because they have a unique hunting pattern for birds of prey: they hunt socially. this just really fit with his partnership with aloy in hzd.

jackdaw: i debated over this for a LONG time. ultimately i went with the jackdaw for… a multitude of reasons. firstly, i like that his face looks like a mask. mainly, i was drawn to their intelligence and the fact that they can read facial expressions, even communicate with eye contact (dry yearn, anyone?). they’ve also been predictors of rain or omens of death, which again fit the bandit camps. (i’m also tickled by the edward kenway connection because i love a morally grey antihero on a redemption arc.)

seyka

most of seyka’s were based on a cuteness factor, because she has such a sweet face and i wanted her morphs to emulate that.

clouded leopard: this one i knew off the bat. seyka has a feline presence and grace, but also fits the “cute but deadly” category.

swallow-tailed kite: honestly i had never heard of this bird until i researched, but knew it was seyka’s. they live largely around water, but was sold me was the tail: it looks just like seyka’s cape. sure, that’s supposed to remind us of a fish, but a lot of people still call them “fairy wings.”

asian small-clawed otter: i was considering some kind of pinniped for seyka when cor suggested otters. one quick search later and i found the one that just gives “seyka” with its face.

erend

grizzly bear: i’m not the first to think of “bearend,” but really, i can’t think of something more fitting. a grizzly bear is raw physical power, something erend uses in a fight already. and yet it’s shaped so much like a friend that you just want to hug it.

stellar’s sea eagle: i wanted something big for erend, but i wanted something with a bit of flash to it, and something that wasn’t “obvious.” besides, i already had the golden eagle picked for petra, and it didn’t feel “erend” anyway. these birds are huge, but graceful—maybe erend doesn’t feel like he is, but he’s good enough in a fight and surefooted.

leonberger: i knew his personal form was some kind of dog just based on their behavioural traits (loyalty, eagerness to please, protectiveness, etc.) and the leonberger just has an erend look. they have all the erend traits too.

talanah

caracal: i knew i wanted some kind of desert cat, and the caracal just gives talanah vibes. stealthy, graceful, expert hunter, not the biggest wild cat out there… and those ear tufts. they remind me of her headpiece, which is just adorable.

red-tailed hawk: this is one of my absolute favourite birds of prey (thanks to the original animorphs series) and i knew instantly it was talanah’s. they also like the desert climate, but if i’m being honest, this choice is favouritism.

chital deer: deer have long represented majesty. they’re beautiful animals, and in a lot of stories, they’re symbols of hope and change. i got a vibe that talanah’s deer had spots, did a quick search, and saw the chital. funny enough, i almost went in a totally different direction thanks to self doubt, but when @/kelsochronicles also suggested chital deer… that’s fate lmao.

kotallo

snow leopard: this is a no-brainer. aside from noshir himself saying he based kotallo’s movements on being cat-like, there’s more than one comic floating around depicting him with a snow leopard. the vibe is just there.

eurasian eagle owl: i wanted some kind of owl for kotallo, but snowy was too on the nose. i like eagle owls: they’re massive, and these guys like to puff themselves up to appear even bigger. cor and i tossed a few different ones back and forth before we chose this one. their markings remind me a lot of his tattoo and paint, so it was also very much an aesthetic choice.

markhor: this one was so neat. in our brainstorming, cor and i felt some kind of goat for him. i remembered markhors and looked them up, and was not disappointed. the first thing i saw was that they’re prey of snow leopards, so i liked the idea of kotallo having conflicting parts of himself, kind of reflective of his hfw journey. a quick google showed they symbolise resilience and determination, and they are also known as snake-killers—which so fits with fist option for wings of the ten and him killing regalla, since i do see at least one of her morphs as a snake of some kind.

alva

komodo dragon: there is so much more to alva than meets the eye. she goes through the entire greenhouse mission with aloy knowing she’s the exact image of elisabet sobeck, but says nothing until she has to. komodo dragons, at first glance, may look like just a big lizard, no big deal—but they can, and will, fuck you up. i feel like alva’s morph fighting style would suit: close to the ground, almost unassuming, but quick and deadly and smart, using venom to kill instead of just sheer strength.

short-eared owl: alva was always an owl of some sort. cor suggested short-eared, and they are frickin adorable. cutest face, they almost look like they have lashes. the banding around their faces is almost suggestive of alva’s focus, which is a vibe.

tent bat: they’re cute as fuck. that’s it. they’re fuckin adorable. i want 100 like i want 100 alvas.

drakka

african painted dog: the first one i knew for sure. this was always drakka’s. their sense of pack, of community, and their whole look just gives desert clan.

sharp-shinned hawk: this was suggested by darby, because of the pattern of chest feathers resembling desert clan paint. honestly it’s such a vibe, purely aesthetic but so fits.

texas horned lizard: another darby suggestion, but the spikes! drakka is such a spiky boy, his personal morph also needs to be. adorable to look at, but covered in a layer of defence.

petra

spotted hyena: for some reason, hyena was the first animal i thought of for petra, and it just clicked. extremely adaptable, opportunists, and one hell of a bite force. they also have an alpha female as a leader. like. that’s petra.

golden eagle: there’s a lot to be said about symbolism of eagles, especially in north america. i don’t want to go too deep into it, but mythology aside, these eagles are notably intelligent. petra is one of the top inventors we know of in horizon. seemed fitting.

moose: this was actually suggested by @/kittleskittle as a battle form, but the more i thought on it, the more it suited petra on a personal level. they’re strong and adaptable, and while they look calm and graceful, they can definitely fuck you up if you try shit.

varl

african elephant: there is a LOT of mythology around elephants, particularly in representing wisdom and loyalty. those fit varl to a t. they’re emotional animals, very smart, and have tight family bonds. elephants also have a matriarchal culture, and for a nora like varl, that fits.

great black hawk: cor suggested this one as well. these hawks have been known to travel extreme distances outside their normal habitat—and varl chased aloy for six months far, far from home. fit the guy.

red deer: again, this one is mainly vibes. i wanted some kind of stag for varl’s personal form, and i have always loved the regalness of red deer. this choice was definitely a vibe more than anything else.

saltwater crocodile: the symbolism of (nile) crocodiles and fertility just made this stick, but i went with the saltie partially due to personal preference. another atypical fighter, low to the ground, and maybe a person would see a croc and think they either have to outrun it or just trap its jaws shut—but make one mistake and she’s got you.

osprey: i wanted to lean into the maternal side for this one, and osprey are notorious for defending their nests and young.

northern cardinal: this one was unexpected but delightful. mythology all over the world symbolises them with resurrection, as well as communication with the spiritual world. as a gravesinger, this fits zo so well.

beta

bobcat: i knew i wanted something small for beta, but something lithe and sleek. she holds herself so differently from aloy. they can sometimes symbolise things that are hidden, and old wisdom. i really liked that for beta, and i liked that this form is one that’s small, almost unassuming.

striated caracara: the most intelligent birds of prey, able to figure out puzzles almost on par with parrots. i knew beta’s bird wouldn’t be big, but a kestrel didn’t feel right. i wanted it to be wicked intelligent, and that search led me here. their slightly reddish colouring doesn’t hurt either.

pine marten: cor had suggested some kind of weasel, and i believe arbee on twitter suggested a pine marten as a battle form. really, it fits her personal form a lot. they are associated with luck, and are curious animals, and those both fit beta. she needed to be a bit lucky to escape the zeniths, even with her plan, and any clone of elisabet would have to be curious.

i. hope that was uh. not disappointing

#horizon forbidden west #animorphs #thank you for asking!#a lot of previous animal knowledge comes from spending too many years reading animal-focused books #and also years of playing zoo tycoon 2 with custom content mods #the sheer number of animals people have made for that game filled me with incredible knowledge #i’m already planning part two with other npcs #including sylens and hekarro and yarra #they’re a lot of fun!#and i’m so glad (most) people like them #and that i’m reawakening animorphs memories in fellow millennials #my sole purpose tbh

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limbus-limousine · 6 months

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Ik you're mostly a Sinclair poster (a very good one at that) but do you have any animal associations for Dante? Or any of the other sinners for that matter

YES YES ACTUALLY!!! SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS ASK...

I have a list of animal associations for project moon characters in general... I'm still working on it but I eventually want to get to background characters too like the optional ruina receptions etc. But currently these are my thoughts for limbus...

Dante: Merulanella blister/tricolor isopod (a perfect match if you ask me... very expensive collectionist morph too). This might change once we know more about them though!

For Verg and Charon I still have to think some up... But Charon is giving mustelid I must say

Yi Sang: Hooded crow + cicada

Dongbaek: Caramel crow!! (This would be a regular American crow, caramel is a mutation that's still being researched which gives them a creamy brown coloration)

Samjo: Great auk (extinct diver bird/penguin) + Royal tern + otter

Dongrang: African forest buffalo + blue roan shorthorn + Oxpecker + cattle egret

Faust: Rock ptarmigan + wooly aphid (still want to look for more...)

Don Quixote: Quagga + Bearded vulture + Monitor lizard

Ryoshu: Horned owl + Dragontail butterfly + Moth (still need to look into species) + ratsnake/black mamba (reference to Hell Screen)

Meursault: Honestly very hard choice... Mostly for personality reasons, I've been thinking of a Nurse shark + MAYBE badger (noctural + def. want an omnivore in there) + Clam or something

Hong Lu: Mantis shrimp + lemur + Sinosauropteryx (chinese compsognathid with conserved pigments of a ringed tail!)

Heathcliff: Aardwolf + Bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant (want to look for more too...)

Ishmael: Orca (only predator of whales) + kutchicetus (cetacean transitional fossil) + lobster

Ahab: Sperm whale + Narwhal + polar bear

Queequeg: Leopard seal

Rodya: Manul + Cozumel raccoon

Sonya: Leucistic amur leopard + Mediterranean fruit fly

Sinclair (more details...): Eurasian sparrowhawk + indeterminate canine traits. I imagine him as a bilateral gynandromorph (half male/female mutation), inspired by the real recorded specimens of lazuli buntings and canaries.

Demian: Malayan blue coral snake + Boelen's python + Luzon bleeding-heart dove. Pondering on lamb motif + maybe some traces of corvid

Kromer: Mountain lion + Hercules beetle grub + red headed centipede + some mantid perhaps (looking into it)

Outis: Przewalski's horse, or maybe a Mustang (debating, I'm not as informed about equines !) + Harris Hawk + Black headed python

Gregor: Painted trilobite cockroach (infestation) + Ensign wasp (main/original body) + House centipede

#answered #limbus company #project moon #oops #forgot to tag

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is-the-owl-video-cute · 1 year

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what falcon would you recommend for a newbie falconer? we're looking into it lol - idia

A kestrel is the starter falcon for most falconers, but ultimately if you’re in the US or Canada you should go for what your sponsor/mentor advises you. If you’re from elsewhere and not required to take an apprenticeship, it’s vital that you find a good falconry group to mentor you even if it’s not required.

Also note that falcons are not the only raptors used for falconry. Many choose hawks or buzzards (buzzard as in buteo not buzzard as in vulture for American followers who may be confused) and eagles are used in falconry as well. Good starter birds include red tails and Harris’s hawks as well as the aforementioned kestrel. I do not recommend starting with any goshawk, sparrowhawk, Cooper’s hawk, or sharp shinned hawk even if it happens to be legal where you live because those are the most difficult to train properly and not safe for a beginner by any stretch.

Owls can also technically be used to hunt but you need to build a very strong foundation on other raptors and study from those who hawk with owls specifically first because it isn’t easy and it isn’t anything like regular falconry.

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myriadeyed · 11 months

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How do we all feel about questioning posts that are way too long because I originally wrote them on Dreamwidth and was just having so much fun constructing them like some kind of prose

I'm starting to think that sometimes, maybe the best answers are the simplest ones, that you came up with right away before then overcomplicating things with forced "cool" or "rare" answers. Answers that make the most sense because they're so obvious as to be staring you right in the face, and not answers that you had to scrounge up from circumstantial subconscious fragments. Red-tailed hawk was the second theriotype I ever confirmed, and the first bird one. I've always been a buteo, and I knew that, but I went with Harris's hawk instead for so long. I guess it was because I knew red-tail was the "basic" bird kintype and thought people would think not that I was faking, but that I didn't actually do any research or have expertise on birds and went with red-tail because it was the only one I knew, which is almost a worse libel to me. Or because I felt like red-tail was too obvious, too simple, too easy, maybe too influenced by media and what's always been more popular? Early on in my blog I had even written a whole post, which blew up (well, for therian Tumblr standards), about the importance of looking into other predatory birds before one confirms red-tailed hawk, so the idea of then confirming it myself felt almost fraudulent, like I was a con artist.

Ever since accepting I'm also a red-tail, while I thought I was both, I just can't see myself as a Harris's hawk. It doesn't come naturally, it feels forced. I had this same problem summer of last year after I had been trying to explain why I felt like a hawk and decided on Harris's hawk, but "demoted" it to just a familiar cameo shift because it just didn't feel like I was being genuine. It felt like a mask. I had thought the problem was that I was too many different species, I had too many theriotypes, some of them were just wanting to be something, and I needed to Occam's razor down what was real and what was wishful thinking, and Harris's hawk was the first to go. But since then, I have confirmed additional theriotypes -- sea slater, mosasaur, as examples -- and harmoniously, with mental equilibrium. And it wasn't the first time I confirmed Harris's hawk only to feel like it was just off. The problem was the species, and this past August when I really truly accepted being a polytherian instead of trying to reduce reuse recycle with my theriotypes constantly and force myself down to three or four like I was shaving down a wood sculpture, which meant I accepted being a red-tail too (after so long too! Almost seven years), I was suddenly so much more focused on being a red-tail than I ever was on being a Harris's hawk. I just didn't feel like Harris's was important. It was like having a textbook that I loved reading, but then one day I got a shiny newer, updated version, and pretending like the old version was still my favorite had no point, because it was outdated and wasn't accurate.

Anyway, with all that being said, I think I have narrowed down my red-tailed species, which frankly feels more significant to me than being a Harris's hawk at all did. I see myself most in a paler color morph, but not completely white like a leucistic. I am drawn to both central northern American habitats like those in Alberta or Wyoming, and south western American desert habitats like places in Arizona and New Mexico. One of the reasons for clinging to Harris's hawk was that I felt so strongly about being a desert hawk, but felt like I must be a red-tail that lived in greener areas. I did not consider the possibility of a migratory subspecies that winters in the Sonoran.

May I introduce the Krider's hawk, Buteo jamaicensis kriderii, my specific subspecies. While much lighter in color than most red-tails, I am actually a particularly dark-colored individual of this subspecies. I see myself so gracefully in these photos.

I feel so at peace with this. I'm not a Harris's hawk, and more importantly, what makes this not like the last few times I de-confirmed Harris's hawk, I know what I am. I can send this piece of my personal history off to sea, finally satisfied with its closure.

#decipherings #therian #alterhuman #birdkin #hawkkin #← so followers know what they're getting into before they open it

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koravelliumavast · 5 months

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the best part of any adaptation isn’t the voice acting or the animation but rather the soundtrack and sound design. a kinda messy ramble.

first off i have no skin in the game. i’m not like a music major or anything so we’re not getting technical here. i did do band for 8 years however so there’s that.

now it doesn’t matter what the media is- movies and shows sound empty without their soundtracks. it adds an element to them that invokes emotions even if we don’t recognize it at first.

this is mainly because music is something universal that transcends language barriers. music is a universal experience. since before recorded history people have been using music to tell and enhance stories no matter the culture music is inherent in our lives.

and when you’re watching a show it’s no different. music plays a big role in our subconscious understanding and processing of the media. scenes without any music in them sound empty. as if they’re missing something. (because they are) and when there are scenes without music they are usually used for effect or emphasis to show the depth of a situation further.

one of my favorite recent examples of this is how after sukuna defeats mahoraga there’s not any music played again (until specialz) but the rest of the episode was full of the OST. just emphasizing how much that fucked up yuji which is another thing music does well with invoking emotionality. most any time i hear malevolent shrines theme- I literally get chills just from the whole way it’s orchestrated. (if you haven’t listened to it by itself i highly recommend it)

but it’s not just the soundtracks that do that. pairing it with the animation add just another sense of dread and urgency to the whole thing. like we know this is a bad scenario already. but the music layers onto that sensation even more. soundtracks change the way we see shows. watch a scene without the sound on and then watch it again with the sound on and there’s a big difference. or read the same scene. the soundtracks add depth.

often times as well, soundtracks tell their own story. sometimes characters have a very specific motif that is tied to them and it can be found repeatedly across the songs. sometimes they’re even respondent to the characters themselves.

my favorite example here is in trigun stampedes ost. knives’s piano will always overtake a song while vash’s themes tend to be more subtle and let the other themes shine above his own. and the twins are like that too. vash wants to coexist with humans- knives believed it’s impossible. the stampede ost also has its own story to it. as it progresses it gets further away from that “westerny” sound and starts to get more orchestral and cinematic

and that’s because music tells a story. this isn’t just evident in anime either. the hunger games soundtrack is very brass and drum heavy- sounds that are typically associated best with military strength and revolution and in thg they overthrow the government. despite it not having the same composers throughout the series- harry potters soundtrack gets darker throughout to reflect the tone of the series as a whole as it gets darker and more deadly. jurassic parks classic theme is very awestriking and instills a sense of wonder in a person- they cloned dinosaurs. that is a very awe inspiring thing to see. there are more examples but you get it.

of course. soundtracks aren’t the only thing that add depth to media- that’s what sound design is for. a gunslinging show wouldn’t be the same if there wasn’t a rumbling sound whenever there was a gunshot. the eagle screech is actually from a red-tailed hawk. these elements are often overlooked as well, since they stimulate our subconscious enjoyment of media without us really processing them because that’s what they’re there to do. enhance the experience of the show itself and make it feel more realistic

if someone’s wearing heels and walking on a tile floor and it’s clearly shown- you’ll hear a clacking sound because that’s what heels SOUND like on tile irl. it wouldn’t be silent. these are things our brains have learned to just process but not call big attention to, which leads people to often times just pass up the enhancements sound design adds to a series. but without those it would be empty and feel wrong. like something was missing. because it is.

#ramblings #long post #music theory my beloved

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its-to-the-death · 1 year

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Mod's Crush Competition Round 1

Hey guys! Based on the poll I sent out, it looks like some of you wanted to see what kind of fictional crushes I've had and of course I'm more than happy to oblige...

These are all crushes I've had through my lifetime so not all of them are current. Some of them I can explain and others make me question my life choices. They're also all male because I'm only attracted to men. (Maybe next time I'll do a tournament with your guys' crushes)

I tried to limit it to 3 characters per franchise but Yugioh ended up with 5 because there are so many series and I have seen all of them (It's been a very important fandom in my life). I also tried my best to not overrun it with anime. I admit my number of fictional crushes spiked when I started watching anime though. They know how to make them pretty.

Anyways, let's take a look at our bracket:

I am already dreading some of these matchups. For the first round, I am going to split the polls between 2 days. The first half will go up on Tuesday, September 26. The second half will go up on Thursday, September 28. All polls will last a week.

Some reminders:

Please be nice! To me and to fellow voters. I know I've had some weird crushes (and I don't mind if you think I'm weird) but I won't accept hate. If there's a problem, be civil.

Have fun! Don't take this too seriously because it's just a little Tumblr tournament I'm doing for fun and I just want people to enjoy it.

Since the pictures in the bracket are so small, matchups will be under the cut and link to the polls once they start.

Tuesday, September 26 polls

Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) vs Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games)

Rocket (Guardians of the Galaxy) vs The Corinthian (The Sandman)

Peter Pan (Once Upon a Time) vs Shun Kurosaki (Yugioh Arc-V)

Koushi Sugawara (Haikyuu) vs Manitoba Smith (Total Drama)

Sebastian Moran (Moriarty the Patriot/Yuukoku no Moriarty) vs Griff Jones (Bunk'd)

Shun Ibusaki (Food Wars/Shokugeki no Soma) vs George Weasley (Harry Potter)

Kenya Yukimiya (Blue Lock) vs Chase Davenport (Lab Rats)

Seishiro Nagi (Blue Lock) vs Karma Akabane (Assassination Classroom)

Ryou Bakura (Yugioh DM) vs Mycroft Holmes (BBC Sherlock)

Doppo Kunikida (Bungou Stray Dogs) vs Newt (The Maze Runner)

Nathaniel Kurtzberg (Miraculous Ladybug) vs Trey Clover (Twisted Wonderland)

Five Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy) vs Luck Voltia (Black Clover)

Feitan Portor (Hunter x Hunter) vs Tsuchigomori (Toilet Bound Hanako-kun)

Kyoya Ootori (Ouran High School Host Club) vs Viktor (Arcane)

Horace Somnusson (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) vs Percy de Rolo (The Legend of Vox Machina/Critical Role)

Hikaru Hitachiin (Ouran High School Host Club) vs Tetsurou Kuroo (Haikyuu)

Thursday, September 28 polls

Hiccup Haddock III (How to Train Your Dragon) vs Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)

Eita Semi (Haikyuu) vs Leona Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland)

Keigo Takami/Hawks (My Hero Academia) vs Colt Grice (Attack on Titan)

Theon Greyjoy (Game of Thrones) vs Azul Ashengrotto (Twisted Wonderland)

Noah (Total Drama) vs Ango Sakaguchi (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Quattro Arclight/IV (Yugioh Zexal) vs Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Millard Nullings (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) vs Jackal (Fairy Tail)

Shin (Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross) vs Mihaya (Snow White with the Red Hair)

Ryokan Kogami/Revolver (Yugioh Vrains) vs Tamaki Amajiki/Suneater (My Hero Academia)

Bran Stark (Game of Thrones) vs Rogue Cheney (Fairy Tail)

Gray Fullbuster (Fairy Tail) vs Klaus Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

Shouta Aizawa/Eraserhead (My Hero Academia) vs Reo Mikage (Blue Lock)

Kento Nanami (Jujutsu Kaisen) vs Sanji (Live Action One Piece)

Scott (Total Drama) vs Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter)

Farkle Minkus (Girl Meets World) vs Seung-gil Lee (Yuri on Ice)

Phaser Ryugu (Yugioh Go Rush) vs Franken Stein (Soul Eater)

#mod's crush competition #crush competition round 1 #brackets

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aerial-jace · 1 year

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Give me a list of the top ten birds ever

Let's go!

Quetzal — It's green! Males have these gorgeous long tails! Their feathers were used as trade commodities in pre-Columbian times! The red accents on the chest are according to legend because one descended onto the bleeding chest of the Guatemalan national hero Tecún Umán! This would be my fursona if it wasn't my country's national bird. Can you imagine? That'd be as cringe as an American with a bald eagle sona.

Yellow-naped parrot — My chosen bird to base my sona design on. This is my head the archetypal parrot because my grandfather used to have one as a pet. I used to spend a lot of time at his house so of course I'm fond of them. Also I find parrot mimicry so cool. Language bird, very fitting for a linguistics nerd like me.

Scarlet Macaw — Also from the parrot family. The red plumage is also gorgeous. A bird I associate with the maya lowlands. I also associate them with the Mesoamerican mythic motif of the hero twins who defeat the sun monster.

Peafowl — They are so fancy and funky looking. They are the mascot of this hotel here in Guatemala operated by an amusement park company that is partially a private enterprise and partially funded by a voluntary tax. Seeing the peacocks when I visit is one of my favorite things. Also there are some at the cemetery where my grandma is buried.

Egyptian Sacred Ibis — The sacred bird of the primary deity I worship, Djehuty! Seeing them depicted in the tomb murals makes me wish I could visit the pharaonic era Nile valley and walk among the reeds.

Raven — Love the witchy aesthetic! As with other corvids very smart and playful. Has mimicry abilities! I associate these with vikings a lot because of the whole Odin's ravens thing as well as the raven banner. Look it up, it's a seriously cool design.

Crow — Smaller size means they get away with mischief so much easier. Same as above, corvids are just such neat little guys.

Grackle — A smaller corvid which I see more often in my local environment. I love collecting the feathers they leave strewn about. I hope if I'm ever visiting the US I can resist the magpie urge of picking up feathers because I hear that is super illegal.

Harris' Hawk — THEY STACK! These are so silly, love seeing photos of them. Also unusually among raptors they are pack hunters. If I ever branch out from writing about cats I wanna write about these.

Magpie — I too have an instinct to collect shinies. Another bird I feel a kinship to.

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fluffywings13 · 2 years

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ok I just have to ask, WHY DO PEOPLE THINK THAT HAWKS IS A RED TAILED HAWK! They look nothing alike, I have seen them and live near their nesting grounds so I know what they look like. I get if they compare him to a harris hawk or a red shouldered hawk (real thing by the way), but why a red tailed hawk! The only thing red on them is their tail feathers nothing else, that’s it. I honestly think he would be better suited to either a cardinal or a red shouldered hawk.

Red shouldered hawk

I have to admit, I actually see him as a mixture of a few different hawks species, he has certain characteristics that can be from a melting pot of raptor DNA if you will.

Personally I headcanon, just because my Takami Family are similar in Raptor Style quirks, thar Keigo/Hawks has a bit of a mixed DNA when it comes to his hawk comparisons.

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notbecauseofvictories · 2 years

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Backyard Birding

Even with a makeshift birdfeeder (made out of a planter, an upside-down flower pot, and a old plastic plate) I went through a six pound bag of birdseed in a month.

Here are my observations:

March 22 - Birdseed! Mostly sunflower seeds, since I’m hoping to attract more than the usual sparrows, finches and robins. (I’ve seen at least one mourning dove around, do mourning doves like sunflower seeds?)

March 26 - Woke up to swirls of snow, and a lone slate-colored dark-eyed junco picking at the sunflower seeds. Later joined by a pair of house finches, male and female.

March 27 - The sparrows have arrived.

March 28 - There's a crowd now: house finches and house sparrows, the size difference obvious---what might be song sparrows? I can’t tell. Got up at 10:40 for more coffee, and a brilliant male cardinal had arrived and was chasing away all others who dared get close.

March 30 - The cardinal is back! Birds taking shelter from the rain, though they all take off in a whirl when they see me through the window. Sitting at the kitchen table, listening to the patter of rain and birdsong? Bliss.

April 2 - The cardinal again! Does he only visit at 10:30? What a prompt little mister.

April 4 - THE FEMALE CARDINAL!!! Happened to be crossing to the kitchen and I saw her, perched on the wooden fence. I don't know I've ever seen one before, but she's lovely. Cornell Lab describes them as having "warm reddish tinges" and there's something so apt about "warm" in that description.

April 6 - The male cardinal is back again! Or it might be a different male cardinal, he seemed smaller and more skittish than the one before.

April 9 - Caught a half-glimpse of the male cardinal, but he was further away, turned away. I wonder why I never see any robins around the backyard? They're always bobbing along in the front (even saw one pry an earthworm up out of the wet ground this past week) but in the whirl of sparrows, house finches and juncos, I've never seen one help himself to seeds. And they're larger and more distinctive than the common rabble, I would have noticed.

Also took a lazy bike ride through Graceland, and saw which I think might have been a red-tailed hawk. It was being harried by crows, but when it alighted on a branch it sat so tall and straight. And then later I saw some some bird flitting by, too quick for me to mark anything except that it was darker than I expected. And finally, coming out the library - a grackle, bold as brass, eying me from the iron railing. Oil-slick colors, I think I love them best.

April 12 - The female cardinal, perched on the edge of the planter - I couldn't help a little gasp, and whispering "hey, lovely!" She is, she is, she is.

April 14 - I refilled the feeder, and when I turned back the male and female cardinals were perched there together, looking like something out of a picture. Also, I think the birds are getting less afraid of me, because they returned pretty quickly after I refilled the dish, and I can stand very still by the window without freaking them out - the male house finches in particular are fearless, though the female cardinal is braver than the male :)

April 15 - The cardinals definitely are here to stay. The juncos have disappeared (where do they go? further north?) but there's such a crowd around the feeder these days, all those bright-headed male finches. I think they sing the pure, lilting birdsongs I hear most frequently; the male cardinal's chirping is exactly that (metallic, sort of embarrassing) and I've never seen the house sparrows sing. I've noticed more starlings around generally. Spring is coming!

April 16 - I don't think much of him, but the male cardinal certainly is striking. In the full sun, that vivid red and black looks unreal - it's hard to believe that color exists in the world.

April 22 - Finished out the last of the 6 lb bag today, and it's probably for the best; even the sight of the male cardinal couldn't evoke anything in me. However, during some strong rain I did smile to see all the house finches and sparrows perched on the railing, on the planter, keeping out of the wet. In just a few weeks I'll be able to plant; then it will be the next adventure.

April 23 - Made an early run to target for potting soil, and spent an hour or so cleaning up the porch - sweeping away the shells, rinsing the small pots, partially filling the planters with new dirt. (I could only carry 2 gallons without worrying my shopping bag straps would snap.) The female cardinal and then the male showed up, lingered, making me feel inexplicably guilty. Particularly the female. She's so brave, just flitting out of reach but not out of sight; chirping while eying me in a way that seems deliberate...

I'll miss her most of all.

#I STOLE THE BIRDS FROM MY RICH NEIGHBORS I'm very pleased.#unfortunately the illinois dept of nat'l resources is worried about avian flu and is advising everyone take down their feeders #plus I'm a week or two away from planting so I can cool it #still. I will miss that female cardinal I love her I hope she's okay.#about me

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dr3am-t3am · 4 years

Photo

dteam wing!au, bc literally nobody can stop me.

my brain spit this out this morning, and i was like “i could make this and nobody could stop me” and now it exists. i put so much less thought than i should’ve into this. i dont even care. if anybody asks, this is inspired by “Minecraft, but we’re always flying” or something, but that’s not true i just wanted to draw the boys with wings.

some notes under the cut:

- Dream was definitely the design i actually thought about the most. I wanted something fast and maneuverable for him, but not super expected (like a falcon or something, which is kind of a moot point considering the other two are super stereotypical wing designs, but also do i really care? no.) so I was thinking something like a kingfisher or a hummingbird at first, but that didn't really fit either, and plenty of birds are fast but not really agile. I then went into swifts, which are the fastest horizontal flying birds and are. super fast and maneuverable,, but guess what? they aren't the fastest horizontal flying animals.

- bats are.

- these tiny bats go around flying at 100 mph, making crazy turns and such all the while. theyre insane.

- Brazilian free-tailed bats ! look them up

- anyways i didn’t want to use bats at first bc stereotypical “evil” connotations combined with dream’s,, uh,, tendencies? (every manhunt vid, but especially speed runner v. mutant. you Know.) seemed like a super cliche take, but like come on. it worked too well. crazy bat boy doing crazy bat boy things. imagine the pun potential.

- so anyways. he’s a bat.

- to be honest, I dont know what universe this would really exist in, real life or minecraft, but both have a lot of potential so. i might do more with this, because i supposedly made this up based on “minecraft but we’re always flying” i’ll put it in the mc world for now but like. both seem like too much fun

- anyways

- Dream is as I said, crazy bat boy. He is still minorly afraid of heights,, not as much as he probably is in real life but like,, he isn’t the most comfortable with them. He does love flying though, and in typical bat fashion he does a lot of dodging and weaving through trees and other crazy stunts. Bat wings are super jointed and flexible, so he’s able to weave through super busy landscapes pretty easily,, much to George and Sapnap’s chagrin

- George is a barn owl ! Partly bc though I know nothing about harry potter but i know owls are a thing with wizards and stuff in general, and george is apparently The harry potter nerd in the dteam, and partly bc owls are the bird equivalent to cats and george is a cat if you've ever seen one. also, his stupid goggles look like giant owl eyes. it works ok ?

- he’s not as fast a flier as dream and sapnap, but he’s still a very effective hunter. he can fly Silently and he uses that to his advantage a Lot. unfortunately, he’s still colorblind, but he’s still got really good vision. his night vision, especially, is super good, as is his hearing

- george has. Lorge wings. he’s pretty average size, same as in real life, but he’s shorter than both dream and sapnap and has Massive wings. they’re super fluffy too, making them look even bigger, and the resulting image results in george looking pretty small for how Massive his wings are, like a child that hasn’t really grown into their clothes yet. they are the absolute best wings to cuddle with, even though he doesn’t do that often, and when he gets startled he raises them automatically to look a lot bigger than he actually is, in that owl way of becoming a circle. dream and especially sapnap find it hilarious.

- sapnap’s a red tailed hawk ! he seems to suit a bird of prey really well, and I associate the color red and orange with him a lot. Sapnap’s a great flier and very much enjoys screwing around in the sky, often way higher than dream and george really like to go up. He’s a fast enough flier, definitely faster than george, but nowhere close to Dream if they’re flying horizontally. However, he Can dive, and he can dive very very fast. He dive-bombs george Constantly, and sometimes manages to pull one on Dream if he and George do the planning beforehand. it doesn’t always work because Dream’s a little weasel and can maneuver himself out of place Fast once he notices, but they Have pulled it off a few times and his reactions are Golden.

- Sapnap is *pretty* chill, but if you trigger his territorial instincts then he can become and absolute pain to deal with. This, of course, is why you can very often find sapnap and dream flying and chasing each other because dream was being a little a-hole and stole sapnap’s stuff or something. (he’s also very protective of his friends, who he consider as his territory, or home, not that he’s gonna say it or anything.)

- when sapnap gets into Instinct Mode he also rarely does the red-tailed hawk screech, which usually is enough of a shock to kick him out of it as both george and dream laugh themselves silly. both george and dream get the most flak for being the loud ones,,, (not even bc of his bird, for george, but just bc. He’s George) but that Screech puts everyone else to shame,, it’s just,, So Loud.

- dream, when he isnt flying, is actually very protective of his wings. it’s not immediately obvious to the others, but because his wings are so small and maneuverable dream tends to fold them up and hide them under his clothes when he can, and otherwise keep them folded and away from everything else when he can’t. george has his wings folded about half of the time, and sapnap really never has his folded. they fly so much that it’s not super obvious, but dream’s wings are Delicate and full of tiny bones and joints thank u very much and he’s very protective of them

- both george and sapnap have feathers along their back and neck that will raise when they’re alarmed or scared. dream doesn’t, but his hair is Extremely fluffy and fine, to the point of almost seeming like fur instead of hair.

- both dream and george lean towards a nocturnal sleep schedule, and sapnap basically grudgingly follows. they have a completely screwed up sleep schedule, just like real life. it be like that sometimes.

i’ll cut this off for now, but i have. more thoughts. we’ll see what becomes of them haha.

#dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #sapnap #dreamteam #dream team #mcyt #mcyt fanart #dteam wing!au #this is what ive been thinking about all day #myart #mywriting #i made the illustrations really quickly so theyre kinda messy #i like them anyways #this was fun #tell me if you want to see more !

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nekno-rambles · 4 years

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Art and tiny birds

Something I see a lot in artwork, and a couple of books, is tiny birds. Specifically tiny birds of prey. Specifically specifically tiny eagles.

So consider this a PSA about how big eagles can be.

This is a red-tailed hawk. In my experience, this is the size a lot of artists who have not spent a lot of time studying birds think an eagle is. Red-tails are a good size for a hawk; they’re kind of on the large end of ‘hawk-sized’ if you think about it from a birder’s perspective, but for art this is a good example of an average ‘hawk’

This is an extremely long post, so the rest of it is going under a cut

Compare that red-tail to this Harris’ hawk

Or this goshawk

This here is a gyrfalcon, this is about the largest a falcon can get.

Now, the eagles.

This is a golden eagle. While they are not typically counted as one of the largest eagles, you could consider this a very good example of an ‘average eagle,’ as far as the general image of what people imagine when they think of eagles. Please note that it’s a large bird.

This is a bald eagle; what a lot of people consider to be the ‘standard’ image of an eagle (no thanks to American media.) It’s of a similar size to the golden eagle, more or less.

Now, the real big ‘uns. What’s the largest an eagle can be? Do you want to see?

This is a harpy eagle. They are jungle eagles, so do not have a very large wingspan proportionate to their bodies, but harpies have HUGE MASSIVE talons, and are just overall enormous, powerful birds. They have an average wingspan of 6ft (200cm)

Harpy eagle feet. Please note the size of the killing claw on the rear toe. It’s about the same size as a bear’s claw. They can absolutely kill people by nailing them in the back of the head with that claw. Harpy eagles are primate hunters, so they know where to hit.

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This is a Steller’s sea eagle. This is the heaviest eagle in the world, it averages 15lbs (6.7 kg) but the largest females can get up to 20lbs (9 kg) and it has a wingspan of about 7ft 2in (212 cm)

(That weight might not sound like a big deal, but keep in mind that birds are much, much lighter than a mammal of similar size, because they have to be able to fly.)

Since it is the heaviest eagle, usually it has to be carried by beefier guys. Compared to a smaller person, it really looks like a dragon.

youtube

That’s a dragon, I tell you :U

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This is the Philippine eagle; measuring by length, this is the largest eagle in the world, and is the second heaviest eagle. Like the harpy, it’s a jungle eagle, so its wings are on the smaller side proportionate to its body. That doesn’t mean it’s a small bird by any capacity, though. They still average a wingspan of over 6ft (2 meters)

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This is a white-tailed eagle, a slightly smaller cousin of the Steller’s sea eagle.

It’s still considered the 4th largest eagle in the world, with an average wingspan of about 7 ft 2 in (218 cm)

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This is a martial eagle. They are also up there in the weight and length category as far as eagles go. Average wingspan is 6ft 9in (206 cm)

They are big enough to tangle with small antelopes, and win.

I’ll end this post with the tidbit that vultures get even bigger than this.

Artists, please stop drawing hawk-sized eagles. Thank you.

#eagles #birds of prey #art advice #art tutorial #animals #animal facts #red-tailed hawk #bald eagle #golden eagle #steller's sea eagle #harpy eagle #philippine eagle #gyrfalcon #goshawk #harris' hawk #martial eagle #white-tailed eagle #falconry #nekno-rambles

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highways-are-liminal-spaces · 3 years

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Top 5 birds of prey?

Sure! For this category, I’m going with Accipitriformes (that is, hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, and neither owls nor falcons) and, since I have a vultures list coming up, no vultures here!

(Lammergeiers are my favorite bird in the world, though, so I just needed to mention that they would be at the top of this list.)

Also, since these are birds, I’m going to infodump a bit about why they’re my favorites:

1. Red Kite

First of all, look at them! I love the forked tail (big Swallow-tailed Kite vibes, which is the bird that just missed making this list) and the deep rufous color is gorgeous in the sunlight. Also the success of their reintroduction in the UK is fantastic, and it gets some bonus points for the time one of the field techs working with them talked to me for a long time about how fantastic the breeding boom has been.

2. Golden Eagle

This one is simple: Golden Eagles and I have mostly the same taste in range and habitat (much like Common Ravens as well). Seeing two Golden Eagles touselling in the foothills of the Brooks Range in the arctic is a different experience than seeing one soaring below you in the Canyonlands and also different from seeing one on a fencepost in the prairies of North Dakota.

3. Northern Goshawk

Again, an iconic raptor of the far north! Goshawks cover the last of my favorite habitats that Golden Eagles frequent less—they’re usually the top raptor in northern bogs, and I’ve watched one harassing a pair of kingfishers in a Tamarack bog in Alaska. Another reason I love goshawks is how easy they are to identify—you can agonize over photos and field guides at home, but in the field you almost never hesitate between a gos and a Cooper’s Hawk (and don’t rely on fieldmarks). They just give off such a more powerful vibe, and you immediately get a sense of their bigness.

4. Zone-tailed Hawk

A cryptic-aggressive mimic! They’re evolved to look like Turkey Vultures (scavengers) in flight, complete with holding the wings in a V-shape, so that prey will ignore them. This serves the additional function of confusing birders too, and it’s a lot of fun to pick through huge kettles of vultures in the southwest to try to find these dudes.

5. Harris’s Hawk

The only raptors that hunt in cooperative packs! How can you not love social, pack-hunting hawks? If you’ve never seen them in action, check out this clip (spoiler alert/cw: rabbit death)

#birds #raptors #top 5 creatures lists #t5q #Anonymous

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fae-tales-personal · 3 years

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Alrighty, part 2!!

Part one

Now for the MHA Boys!

Tsukuyomi

The Asian Koel

Reasons

The coloration of the feathers, eyes, and beak

I considered the Asian Glossy Starling and the Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo, but the lighter beak and consistent red eyes in the photos of the Asian Koel’s convinced me

They are secretive birds

Tell me that bird doesn’t give you Tokoyami vibes

Hawks

The Highland Hepatic Tanager

Reasons

I love Keigo, but he’s not a Red-Tailed Hawk and here’s why

While his name is Hawks, birds of prey are not often brightly colored in any sense, therefore making Hawks not a Red-Tailed Hawk

His red is actually closer to the red of a male Highland Hepatic Tanager

There are other red birds that could fit the bill, such as a Northern Cardinal or the Summer Tanager, but the Highland Hepatic Tanager’s colors fit very well with his wings

Now onto the Marvel Heroes

The Falcon

The Red Necked Falcon

Reasons

I know I just said birds of prey don’t have bright colors, but Falcon’s red on his wings is not a focal point and is also a duller red

The rest of the coloration fits well with his over all look with the steel-grey and black wings on the Red Necked Falcon

I also like that they almost look like they’re wearing goggles over their eyes with the yellow and black

They are small, but powerful and fast birds

They bring their prey down while close to the ground and that reminds me of how Sam fights while he has his wings

Hawkeye

The Harris’s Hawk

Reasons

It was recently studied and discovered (by this I mean like 2018) that Harris’s Hawks have some of the best, if not the best, eyesight of any Hawk

Their eyesight is even about 8 times better than any humans

Tbh there wasn’t much else I was going off of for Clint because how many purple Hawks with killer eyesight can you think of?? Exactly.

Lastly, Angel from X-Men

The White Tailed Kite

Reasons

I am once again mentioning their coloration lmao

They are grey, white, and black

Their wings are white that fade into grey

Angel has white wings until he becomes Archangel where his wings become metallic and grey

Other considerations were the Trumpeter Swan and the Northern Harrier

And that was a pointless hero/bird rant with Luk, stay tuned for my next long winded and unneeded (most likely hero related) rant that no one wants or asks for, but gets anyway

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