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Birdhouse is a creature I concepted back in 2024! A harmless but fierce-looking migratory animal.
In-universe, it is referred to as "snake-eating-worm," having the appearance of two other gargantuan creatures (a spiny worm and a lesser feathered serpent) engaged in predation. They believe that its appearance is meant to deter other creatures from approaching as it navigates through forests and jungles, the most common places where these worms and snakes are seen.
It has highly-developed electromagnetic organs that allow it to navigate without the use of any other senses. By sensing changes in the atmosphere, it has developed the ability to migrate alongside birds, and has formed a symbiotic relationship with them.
It provides them with shelter (via its head) and they provide it with food via droppings and deposited fruit or fish. Given that the relative nutrient to energy output is low for a creature of its size, it will go into near-dormant states while stationed at the stops on the birds' migratory routes. It is very rarely seen consuming anything other than what the birds feed it; when it is seen eating from trees or eating small-mid sized mammals, it is seen as an ill omen that things are wildly out of balance. This is occasionally interpreted as an indication that the ecosystem is suffering from some form of overhunting or under-producing the needs of the birds.
They are docile creatures that often "whistle" or "sing" in what appears to be communication with the birds a given snake-eating-worm is following. It will warn them of weather changes, predators approaching, and other threats to their safety. Defensively, it can emit infrasonic and ultrasonic waves to incapacitate or eliminate threats, and is often used as a last resort. The electromagnetic organs on its forelimbs can be used to mildly shock or incapacitate threats, but at a great cost to its energy reserves. Birds have been seen stopping their routes to assist the snake-eating-worm in recovering its energy before continuing on their journey.
Note that each individual follows separate species or "families" of birds, and remains with that family until its death. Its head, which is made of a hard, ceramic-like fleshy material, has holes through which wind passes and is manipulated to create sound (they are also able to prevent noise from being generated by the natural passing of wind). These holes also serve to allow birds to sit inside and nest. It is suspected that it is able to close off the passageway to its digestive tract to prevent the consumption of birds while they are roosting.
It is of note that birds of a given species will occasionally nest during certain major stops when it is paired with a snake-eating-worm, while birds that are not paired do not nest until they arrive at their destination.
