Bestiary: Gray Alphyn By Kerian-halcyon Watch

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Gray alphyn



Class: Gryphus

Order: Carniformes

Family: Avislupidae

Genus: Alph

Species: A. corvus



The Gray Alphyn (Alph corvus) is an average-sized Old World alphyn in the Gryph family Avislupidae. It is also known as a Crow Alphyn due to its brown-gray plumage and its tendency to harass humans.



Description: The average Gray Alphyn is roughly 95 cm (37 in) tall in shoulder height and 200 cm (78 in) in length from the tip of their 'nose' to the ends of their tail feathers. Males tend to be on average about 22 kilograms (49 lbs) in weight while females generally weigh between 20-24 kilograms (44-52 lbs) depending upon the season. All Gray alphyns have gray-colored plumage that ranges from mid-gray-browns to full grays in color, with the color becoming darker during the onset of winter.



Behavior: Like all Alphyns, Gray alphyns live in family groups called Murders that can range between 12-15 adult individuals, of which 2-3 pairs are dominant breeding pairs. They tend to hunt smaller game such as rabbits, hares, and some squirrels, as well as various wild goats, ibex, and even roe deer (though more commonly they prey on young or scavenge kills made by other predators). Gray alphyns are unique in that they are among the few Old World alphyns that regularly pursue fish as a part of their diet; likely a direct response to having to deal with large numbers of endemic wolf populations without direct competition. A favorite, as observed by trappers and a few official sources, seem to indicate that they like humpback whitefish, though salmon had been another popular source of food based on some medieval reports.



A Gray alphyn can live for up to 30-35 years on average, with the maximum recorded lifespan being 42 years for an individual in captivity.



Females breed in autumn and start laying eggs in dens during early spring, with roughly 4-6 eggs per clutch; the highest of any Alphyn species. The young hatch after an incubation period of a few months, usually hatching during the early summer months when food is at a maximum. As the northernmost species of Old World Alphyn in Europe this is likely crucial, as it ensures that the young can grow big and fat off of food before the winter season. The winter season is often the most dangerous for new fledglings, with a death toll average of around 50-70% of all young dying of the cold more than anything else.



Range: Gray alphyns range primarily in south Germany along its borders, with populations being observed throughout southern Germany, northwestern France, Switzerland, and Austria. Its ancestral range may have included much of present Belgium and Czech Republic as well, though fossil evidence also indicates that the Gray alphyns may have had a roaming range all across modern Europe. An official verdict on a central range is difficult due to these Alphyn migrating seasonally in order to avoid being trapped in the worst of the winter snows, though it has been confirmed that they have never been seen south of the Alps; the mountains acting as a natural border for the entire world population.



A population of Alphyns has been confirmed to have existed in the British Isles during the Medieval period of Europe. It is likely that these were introduced to the islands; either by prospective hunters who sought to add to the variety of the King's existing hunting ranges, or as gifts from German or French nobility to English and Scottish kings that escaped and went feral. These Gray alphyns became a breeding population that ran rampant throughout southern Britain for a number of decades, with a Murder of Alphyns having been reported to be nesting in London sewers over winter. This population was exterminated during the Renaissance when it was rumored that they were the source of an avian-human rabies, though this was never confirmed. Today the only Gray alphyns in Britain can be found in the Royal Zoo as well as the domestic breed kept by the Barons De-La-Warr as a living representation of their badge of office.



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Managed to get this guy colored, and using only my mouse too! I found that thanks to my previous method of coloring that it wasn't that hard to accomplish and was, in fact, easier to do than with a tablet (though perhaps this is due in no small part to my bamboo pen's dorkiness...it was never that good of a tablet). Given how well that worked, I think that will be how I color my stuff from now on until I can get a tablet that works well for me.



On another note, in case if anyone is curious about the weirdness of his design, I actually drew that up on purpose based off of the drawing in Heraldry that I saw on Wikipedia. I actually really like how that turned out, so for the rest of my bestiary that is exactly how I will draw fur from now on.



Hope you guys liked the written description as well!





-Kerian



Edit: Fixed that little black thing to the side, was bothering me.

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