Male Hatchling
Name: unnamed
Species: Kasandar Tityrid
Birthday: Friday, August 2, 2024
Owner: DarrkestDrow
Element: Void 
Unlike most birds, kasandar tityrids hatch with open eyes and the ability to feed themselves, although they remain clumsy for their first few weeks. They retain down and remain in a nest with their siblings until their flight feathers grow in, but their parents take no part in their care after the eggs hatch. The juveniles rely on the insects that wander near the nest, attracted by the sap of bore holes the parents make in the tree where the nest is built. Even flightless and covered in fluff, young tityrids are fast and armed with sharp bills and claws. Only two or three birds are born to a single clutch to reduce the chances of infighting, and during dry years with less food available, the eggs will hatch several weeks out of sync in order to give each chick the best chance of survival. Though they don't develop the ability to speak prophecies until they are at least a year old, kasandar tityrids seem to be able to predict future events from a young age, always able to avoid hazards and choose exactly which direction their prey will try to run.
Kasandar tityrids are rare, beautiful birds found only within the vicinity of Chachen Ixa in Tetzcotal. Despite their small range, these birds are known of as far as Synara, and revered by many. They possess an eerie power that even the magi do not fully understand, the power of prophecy. While the ability to see into the future is documented in other creatures like the Raza lemurs, the visions of kasandar tityrids are unique in that the tityrids seem to have some say in what happens. They can not only see the future, but for small events, they can also change it. Their sway seems to be fairly limited -- they can cause a person or creature to turn right when they would have gone left, or act when they would otherwise have remained inert, as long as both options are valid for the being in question. They can share their visions with humans by mimicking human speech to relay prophetic riddles, and those who choose human companions have been known to occasionally make improvements to their human's life. Getting one as a companion is difficult enough, and even if the bird will use its powers for you, most people prefer not to have them around. Their prophecies are vague and difficult to understand at the best of times, and even when they can be understood, the birds will often lie for fun, or change the future so that their previous prophecies go unfulfilled. A wise person knows to always be wary of fortunes, especially when they come from a kasandar tityrid.
Sprite art: Tekla (hatchling) | Description: PKGriffin