#real bird

[hurrraaid]

Posting this here as well because I'm SO PROUD of my boy. This is my goshawk, Tart. The bird that inspired falconry au!!

This is him 3 years apart and it's amazing to see the change in his colours! The feathers are finally fully adult and he's so handsome

But the most interesting thing for me is that goshawks eyes will gradually turn more red as they age! Hes officially gone into orange eye mode this year!!

[fleshdyk3]

[molagboop]

How varied are the chozo's natural colors? Do they ever dye their feathers?

Variation is damn near infinite: some colors and patterns are more common in specific tribes than others, but with the right combination of genes and the odd mutation, anything is possible.

They do indeed dye their feathers! Popular colors and patterns vary by the season, and younger folk often follow fashion trends set by those they admire.

Edit: more on natural variation, because I want to present a couple of real world bird examples that display the kind of variation I'm talking about.

You can have a guy with little ringlets on the tips of their plumes. White head, black neck, color gradation running down the back. Iridescence. The sky's the limit with feathers.

This is a male Lady Amherst's pheasant (order Galliformes, family Phasianidae).

Variation doesn't just come in colors and patterns, but textures and feather shape, as well.

This is a male golden pheasant (order Galliformes, family Phasianidae). Note the longer, thinner plumes on the underside and the crest.

You can have any kind of feather texture anywhere on a Chozo. Big crests, colorful napes and capes. Variance between the feathers on one's back, throat, and belly. If I could draw right now, I'd illustrate a few.

Male Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise (order Passeriformes, family Paradisaeidae). Image Source: Sam Woods via MacCaulay Library.

Also a note: Chozo aren't sexually dimorphic. I've showed you male birds of species whose females look very different, but these examples or derivatives based on them can appear on Chozo of any orientation. Chozo are incredibly varied. I've been reblogging a ton of bird photos under the tag "real bird" in the spirit of this ask: anything you can imagine is possible for genetic variation.

[hexihertzgameart]

Out in Dublin and…

Birb on man

[sillybillybillysilly]

I love this bird

[ap4rato]

the black jacobin hummingbird is precious 🥺

[melon-official]

best pigeon ive ever seen

[molagboop]

Super cool! Is there a reason the Hatzu chick looks like a Dachora? (I popped off for this whole thing but that especially) - @alligator-with-a-top-hat

They're based on ratites (emus, kiwis, ostriches, cassowaries, etc) and dachoras are built like an ostrich, so I can see how you'd make the connection! The Hatzu are tall, athletic, and built for speed on the ground. The baby in the post is based on a cassowary chick!