Rito Biology 101, All about Tribes
(Gonna try and write this in universe as much as possible. Also going to use in-game screenshots as visual aids. Get ready for headcanon rambles...)
Anyone who's had significant contact with the Rito knows that they come in different shapes, sizes, and plumage colors. But did you know that many of these Rito are actually separate species, much like Hylians are a separate species from the Sheikah or Gerudo? Well, my friends, now you know!
Today we'll be discussing the various Rito Tribes.
This fellow here is Teba, the First Warrior of Rito Village, aka Torikirika (Toe-re-key-re-ka). Teba is a member of the Accipi Tribe, noted for their tall stature and sharply hooked beak, much like that of a Islander Hawk. Like the hawks they resemble, members of the Accipi Tribe are quite adept at soaring with minimal flapping of their wings. Fledglings of this Tribe can be noted for usually having a dark beak, which slowly lightens to the typical yellow with dark spot as they age. One should never, under any circumstance, call a member of the Accipi Tribe a hawk as it is a deeply offensive slur. Of course, the same could be said of the other Tribes we'll talk about in a moment.
This cheerful fellow is Kass, the Loresinger of Torikirika. (The Loresinger is more or less the record keeper of the village, though they often travel outside of their settlements these days to explore ruins, or search out historical relics or documents. You can tell he's the Loresinger by the pin he wears behind his left eye.) He's a member of the Arini Tribe. Members of the Arini tribe typically have solid beak colors, usually darker colors, and large, powerful flight muscles. This is because they flap their wings constantly in flight. A side effect of this however, is that Arini Warriors excel at melee combat, especial the spear. Trust me, an Arini spearman (or spearwoman) in battle is a sight to behold! They can also ascend a bit more rapidly that some other Tribes, though personal training plays a bigger role in that. Male Arini Rito posses a large crest, which is unfortunately mostly obscured in this image by the Loresinger Badge and the angle. Females lack this particular feature. Also of note, Arini Rito are the only tribe that does not grow pluma feathers at all, these feathers are ornamental and take on an appearance similar to human hair.
You may note the markings behind Kass' eyes. These are actually a kind of lightweight face paint! It's a common custom among Arini Rito to mark their faces with circles (which indicate their career by color, bard in this instance), and a series of lines representing their family. The bottom line represents the wearer, then their spouse, then each of their children in order of age. (You can see two of his five daughters here.)
This is Elder Kaneli, a member of the Bubo Tribe. While not all members of this Tribe are quite this large, they are typically taller than most of the other Tribes. In spite of their owl like appearance, they do not have considerably better night vision than other Rito. However, they do posses the same directional hearing capacity as owls and have structures on their feathers making them much more silent in flight. You may note his beard, this feature seems to be unique to the Bubo Tribe, and yes, it is made of pluma feathers and not hair.
This is Saki, the Healer of Torikirika and Teba's wife. Her two piece garb is a signal that she is the Healer, as she's not expected to be on the front lines and has no need for the traditional leather armor most Rito wear. Individuals brooding also wear similar clothes, by the way. Anyway, she's a member of the Cardu Tribe, perhaps the most uniquely patterned of the Rito Tribes.
Perhaps one of the most famous Rito of all, Champion Revali. He's a member of the Cristatta Tribe, pronounced, “Cris-tat-ta.” Members of this Tribe are typically shorter than the other Tribes, though Revali was even shorter than most. You may noticed the braided pluma, his Tribe is one of the few in which men grow pluma feathers outside of the side braids. You may also notice he appears to be different colors in the two images. Cristatta Rito have strong iridescent elements in their plumage, meaning that they can appear different colors depending on the light level or angle they are viewed at. Both men and women possess crests, though women's crests are typically half the size of the men's. Women also lack the tufts on the sides of their face, as well as the side braids other Rito Tribes possess. Oh, those red spots on his face are not fledgling spots, they're adult markings he inherited from his mother, quite rare I'm told. His fledgling spots were lighter, and faded during the juvenile stage (around the age of 10). Fun fact: Cristatta Rito have extra bony plates on their skulls to support those large crests.
And here we have a couple examples of the Orni Tribe, which make up the majority of the Rito population. The top image is of Huck, the village tailor. In the background, you can see his brother Nekk, who runs the Brazen Beak. Note that Nekk's plumage is more typical for Rito of the Orni Tribe.
The bottom image is of Amali, Kass' wife. She is also atypical of the Orni Tribe, as most women are a shade of pink. Female Rito often loop their side braids on pieces of wood.
Now you may be thinking, "Wait, you said that the Tribes were different species, so how can Kass and Amali have children together?" Well silly, the same way Hylians and Sheikah can...
Here we can see most of Kass' brood. Because their father is of the Arini Tribe, and the Rito have patriarchal tendencies, these Arini/Orni hybrids are considered Arini Tribe. However, they'll look more like their mother as the Arini Tribe's more unique features (i.e. the parrot like face) are passed on by the mother's side. They will however have larger flight muscles than your average Orni Tribe member when they grow up (though not as large as their father's). If Kass and Amali had a son, he would eventually grow a crest like his father's.
This little guy is Tulin, Teba and Saki's child. As you can see, he has inherited his father's plumage colors and the dark beak indicates he'll likely have the sharp hooked beak of his father. For the Accipi Tribe (and the Bubo Tribe), their facial features are passed on by the father's side of the family. Note that his blue eyes are not inherted from his mother, all fledglings have blue sclera (the "whites" of the eye). You can just barely make out the yellowish of his iris in this image. As he ages the sclera will whiten, although it is still possible his eyes may not be the intense topaz color of his father's. His beak will also likely end up being wider and a bit shorter than his father's due to his mother's influence.
Of course, if you had say an Accipi man and an Arini woman or a Bubo man and an Arini woman, then their kids would be random distributions of the unique facial features. For the first example one child may resemble the mother while the other would resemble the father (but with a larger chest and possibly an Arini crest if said child was male). There's really no way to predict the outcome of such pairings, they could have five children that all resemble their mother, or four children that are an even mix.
This is Harth, the village bower. Now of course the first thing you notice is the wild pluma. This is a clear sign that he has Cristatta Tribe ancestry. Considering he lacks the tale tell crest, his last Cristatta Tribe ancestor was at least three generations back. That's his daughter Molli in the corner sleeping.
There are of course other Rito Tribes, but unfortunately I don't have images of them. There's the Falco Tribe, noted for their small falcon like beaks and plumage patterns, as well as their exceptional diving skills.
Then there's the mysterious Wizal of the Bahreyo (Bah-reoh) Alliance, a group of nations to Hyrule's northeast. It is uncertain if they are actually a Tribe of Rito, but considering the fact that Rito is effectively a term similar to human (Hylian, Sheikah, Gerudo, etc.) or Zora (yes they're multiple species as well), then until there is evidence to the contrary, I shall assume they are Rito as well. The Wizal are distinguished by dark feathers as well as long, colorful beaks and colorful eyes. In fact, it's said that they look much like toucans. They also happen to be powerful mages. There's also the possibility of other Tribes that have been lost to time (not saying they're extinct, just that they may have left Hyrule).
Alrighty then... That's my crazy Rito headcanon, basically my inner science nerd trying to wrap his brain around how different they're skulls would look... So all the names (except Orni Tribe and Wizal) are from Taxonomy. Accipi is from multiple levels that contain hawks and eagles (Accipitridae, Accipitriformes, Accipitrinae). Arini is the taxonomic tribe that contains macaws and a few parakeets. Bubo is from a genus of owls (horned owls, snowy owls, etc.). Cardu is from Procarduelis nipalensis, aka the dark-breasted rosefinch. Why this one for Saki you ask? Well her beak looks finch or parakeet like and I was looking through genera of finches and well... She's got that dark patch on her chest...
Ahem, moving on, Cristatta comes from Cyanocitta cristata, aka the blue jay. Cristata is Latin for "crested" or "tufted" and Revali's certainly that, plus he's got the attitude of a blue jay. Falco Tribe is from falcons, cause I had some OC's with falcon plumage and their father was Accipi Tribe, so I made their mother more falcon like, and ta-da: Falco Tribe. The Wizal are straight up the Wind Waker version of Wizzrobes. Just you know, with bird feet and not quite so crazy in the eyes and more natural beak markings. Though their outfits are similar, especially those fancy orange robes and gold headdresses and such.