Maraude

Species Info

• The Hungarian Firebird is a subspecies from the original Western European Dragon species. They originated in Hungry but as time went on the Firebird can now be found in Hungry, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Rep, Russia, Prussia, and even a few have been found in Greece. Though there have been sightings of the species in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany its main colony sticks to the Western Part of Europe for a better food access and plenty of shelters.
  
  The Reason why it got its name 'Firebird' is due to its markings, plumage, and where they prefer to make home. The fire bird usually has bright markings on its scales that look a lot like fire. Also it isnt your typical western dragon, they are known as a feathered dragon. From a distance they would look like a phoenix but up close the are indeed a dragon, reptilian features an all. They have tail feathers that fan out much like a bird of prey`s, both at the tail base and at the tip of the tail. Most would think that the feathers would catch on fire but as centuries passed the feathers developed a crystal coating that is strong enough to withstand any amount of heat.. they could even swim in lava. As homes go the Firebird likes somewhere warm, preferably sticking to the mountains as a base. They are capable of breaking the stone in order to dig into the mountain and create a suitable den for the creature to live in. These dens are often found in the middle of the mountain to keep humans away but once inside the cave will start to burrow down deep into the ground where the temperature usually stays warmer than towards the mouth of the cave. Volcanoes are their favorite! Whether they are active or dormant.
  
  Base Colors Include: White(Most Common),Light Grey, Medium Grey, Dark Grey, Black(Rare)
  Feather Colors Include: Yellows, Reds, and Oranges
  Eye Colors: Yellow(Most Common), Green, Red, Orange, Blue, Black, Purple(rare)
  
  Sizes:
  (Female)
  Height: 12-14ft
  Length: 20-26ft
  Wingspan: 26-32ft
  
  Females are always bigger than males but not by much. They are also more aggressive towards mating season and when eggs have been layed as well as hatched. Both Parents tend to chicks and swap out going hunting while the other is baby sitting. Females are usually more dull in there colors until mating season where the oddly seem to brighten up.
  
  Males
  Height: 10-13ft
  Length: 18-24ft
  Wingspan: 23-30ft
  
  Males are smaller than females and less aggressive. When it comes to mating season the males will get more aggressive especially when it comes to fighting off other suitors. Both parents tend to chicks and swap out going to hunt while the other is babysitting. Males are always more brighter in color no matter what season.
  
  Life Span:
  
  Firebirds will stay with there parents till the reach sub adult hood which will be about 4 to 6 years of age. Once the sub adulthood is reached the parents will then kick the chick out and if it refuses it will be killed. When they leave, if the dragon haves a fairly good life it could live to be hundreds of years old. The oldest firebird died at the age of 2500 years old.
  
  Reproduction:
  
  -Sexual Maturity-
  
  Females will reach sexual maturity at about 8 years but most will wait till they are 10 years of age before seeking out a life partner.
  Males will reach sexual maturity at about 9 years of age and then start seeking out a life partner.
  FireBirds court for life so make sure the mate you pick is the right one! They only mate with other firebirds!
  
  -Courting-
  
  When a female comes into season she will start a special kind of estrus. Besides an attractive aroma coming from her lady parts, she will also extract a mucus that comes out of glands on her neck and her sides by the hip and shoulder. As she rubs up against plants and rocks this mucus coats whatever it touches and lets out a pheromone that attacts males. She will also project plenty of mating calls.
  If a male hears a females mating call or finds her pheromones he will indeed proceed on finding the female. Most of the time males will give a female a kill if she accepts the kill then he can advance on trying to swoon her. Males will rattle there feathers in a courtship dance as well as producing a special kind of 'love song' which includes grunts, whistles, hums, rumbles, and gutral purring. If the female accepts the males courtship she will submit to him by lowering herself and allowing him to mount. Mating will last the entire season and will mate multiple times of day. If a rival male shows up the males will fight but if this is after the courtship if accepted they will seek to drive the rival male out of the area and the winning suitor will continue to 'claim' the female. Breeding season for Firebirds start Middle of the summer and last till the beginning of winter.
  
  -Eggs-
  
  A clutch of eggs could be from just one egg too twelve eggs but the average clutch will have about 4-6 eggs. The parents will make a nest out of rocks that will cover the entire nest. They do not sit on the nest to incubate but instead create a fire of nothing but coals ( temps between 55-80 degrees creates males, temps between 65-95 degrees creates females. If the nest falls bellow 50 degrees the eggs will die.
  
  -Hatchlings-
  
  After the eggs hatch the parents start hunting for the babies. Out of the entire clutch only the strongest will survive, yes the dragons are great parents but they will not tolerate weak offspring. Once the hatchlings reach sub adulthood the parents will kick them out, if they refuse to leave they will kill there own offspring in order to teach the others. A dragon will never forget its own child even if it centuries later.
  
  -Death-
  
  When a member of the family dies a dragon will mourn. A funeral is given which is rare among the animal kingdom but they will indeed bury there deceased loved ones. If a mate dies the partner will mourn for years before seeking out another partner.. most dont even seek out other partner since the first is supposed to be your last.
  
  Powers:
  
  -Abilities-
  -Fire Balls
  -Fire Stream
  -Flying
  -Igniting Feathers to use as a weapons
  -Acid spiting
  -Can swim in lava
  
  -Weakness-
  -Water, but can tolerate rain.. some even love the rain as a cooling refreshment
  -Ice
  -Snow
  -Shiny things.. they are cleptos when it comes to shiny treasure like objects