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Parravens: Smart, befriendable/enragable birds.


Dun(ce) Crow

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These mixtures of ravens and parrots nest on a tree, in a small group of two to seven, with an average of three.

Additionally there might be up to two Parraven chicks in the group.

Depending on your actions, a group of Parravens might be friendly, neutral, or hostile towards your pack.

 

 

Normally, they are neutral, which means that they will tolerate your critters - at least if you don't get on their nerves. They will hunt for rabbits in a large area around the tree and sometimes snatch nesting material from built nests, if nobody sits on them. They also attack predators sitting within two tiles from their tree. If you leave a baby unattended in this area (why would you do that?!), there is a chance that they might snatch it.

 

 

If a critter stays directly beside their tree overnight, there is a small chance that they become hostile and attack it. There is a somewhat larger chance that they become hostile if you shake the tree and when you eat acorn. Sometimes there will be a hurt Parraven chick stranded near the tree. If you eat that, the Parravens will get hostile.

 

A hostile Parraven group might attack anyone of your critters sitting in the above mentioned "predator zone", and snatch away your young, if they sit unprotected in the preying zone. And theft of nesting material becomes more frequent. And they might lead predators toward your pack.

 

 

common-raven-3788-ron-dudley.jpg

(random raven nest picture to break up this wall of text. Source: http://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/)

 

 

You can also help that stranded Parraven chick by licking its wounds and leading it back to the tree, giving a very high chance of making that Parraven group friendly. For a smaller chance at befriending them, you can leave food or nesting material beneath the tree.

 

A friendly Parraven group will occasionally bring you food or nesting material. They will still steal from you, but not as often. They will also warn you when there is a predator approaching, and if it is in range of the tree and too close to your pack, they might even attack the predator. If one of your critters near the tree has leeches, they will eat that leech. But they still won't allow you to take any acorns. Shaking the tree might turn them neutral again. However, they now won't snatch your young at all!

 

 

Each Parraven can only attack once per day, making little damage, but there are multiple of them and you can't attack them back. Quills work though. If climbing legs/paws are added, you would be able to catch them on their trees.

Regardless of relationship, they will be less than tolerant towards the blue birds, resulting in a smaller risk of unattended babies being snatched by blue birs, if they are in the Parraven's preying zone. If they babies are directly beneath the tree, the blue birds will only very rarely dare to take them.

 

Concept Art, by MysticTopaz. Thank you!

Discussion on how the alert might work specifically

Some more elaboration on how Parraven territories could work

Colour variants by biome? (Concept Art)

 

So, what do you think?

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Okay, it's official: if this gets into the voting polls, this one has my vote. I love a lot of other suggestions, but I love this one the most. If it's okay, I'd like to try to draw a Parraven for you. What color parrot do you want it to be? Cuz there's a lot xD

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Oh, thank you very much! I think it should not be blue, so that it's clear that they aren't those pesky snatchers. Also some black, because they are part raven. Green and black, perhaps?

Green and black it is! I'll get started right away! One last question: do you want it to have a more raven-y shape or a more parrot-y shape?

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Oh, thank you very much! I think it should not be blue, so that it's clear that they aren't those pesky snatchers. Also some black, because they are part raven. Green and black, perhaps?

Green and black it is! I'll get started right away! One last question: do you want it to have a more raven-y shape or a more parrot-y shape?

 

Perhaps more towards the parrotish side, but with a raven beak? Or vice versa

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Oh, these look great! The parrot body seems to work better, I think.

Awesome! I had a thought: What if the way they alert to a carnivore is to fly in a circle above the carnivore on it's tile?

 

That would make sense. My original thought would be that they call out (similar to those ground-birds I forgot the name of), and fly in the direction of the predator and back to the tree.

I would be fine with either, or a third way.

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That would make sense. My original thought would be that they call out (similar to those ground-birds I forgot the name of), and fly in the direction of the predator and back to the tree.

I would be fine with either, or a third way.

Dodomingos? xD I like the idea you gave! Maybe they do what you said just when the predator is in a certain radius from their tree, but when they attack something they stay flying above it?

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Sounds good!

 

Here is a crude map of a small Parraven territory. Anything that happens in an outer ring will also happen in the inner ones, but not vice versa.

 

The innermost field is of course the tree. In order to give the Parraven gifts, you would interact with that. Don't try to shake the tree. The Parravens don't like that.

 

The ring around that is the base zone. If you stay there overnight, the Parravens might get hostile. And don't pick acorns here, even if you are friends. The Parravens like their acorns more than they like you. And if you leave a newborn here while the birds are neutral, they might snatch it.

 

The base zone and the ring around it make the defensive zone. Any predators and enemies in this zone are attacked every day, by all of the Parravens on the tree. If the birds are neutral, there is a small chance that one of the birds attacks you here, once. As a warning. Blue birds will almost never snatch anything from Parravan's defensive zone

 

Around that is the predation zone. Here, bunnies, moles, and shells will sometimes get snatched by the Parravens. They will also look for nesting material. This might be some grass - which they will clear - or pieces from your carefully built nests, which then have to be repaired. If a predator or enemy nicheling is in this zone, there is a small chance that they attack it. If it is a predator who is dangerously close to a friendly nicheling, the Parravens will very likely defend their friend.

Here you also might find stranded, defenseless Parraven chicks. If you leave it alone, it might get snatched by either its parents or a blue bird (but the latter don't get there as often as elsewhere). If a nicheling stands beside it, no bird will come close. You can either eat it, or lick its wounds. If you do the latter, it will follow you. If you lead it back into the defensive zone, the Parravens will immediately take the chick back and almost certainly become friendly.

The size of the predation zone should depend on the number of birds on the tree. For two Parravens, it would be three fields away from the defensive zone. Then one ring each for the third bird and then another field for every two additional birds. Maximum group size would be seven. Average would be 3 or 4

While a larger size would be more realistic, there is the danger with smaller islands being completely swallowed by the Parraven territory.

 

Around that, farther than most nichelings can see, hear, or smell, (not sure how much exactly this is) is the observation zone. If you have nichelings there (or closer to the tree) and the Parravens are hostile, the spawn rate for predators is higher than normal, due to the birds signaling the predators where exactly they can find a less feathery meal. If you have befriended the birds, and there are both some of your nichelings and predators in the observation zone, the Parravens will alert you.

ParravenZones.thumb.jpg.d8cda7df7b15e787bb19b41701610934.jpg

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It was suggested to me by vivsi78 that the Parravens could have different colors based on the biome, so I recolored the line art! Also vivsi78 said: "the one on the left should steal berries from berry bushes if you arent next to it and the one on the right should attack predators ( i would comment in the suggestion forum but i am very confused how it works )" and I thought that was a neat idea!

6FAF5649E151B1D3E2FAAFE6D28BD1FC5256AF64

Green = Grassland

Orange = Savannah

Blue = Swamp (I'm trying to use only real parrot colors and I couldn't find a better color. I know blue kinda clashes with the current predatory bluebird color, but oh well. If you have a better real-life parrot color that would fit better with the swamp that isn't green, let me know!)

Pink = Jungle

White = Snow

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