Rdava - bird The rdava - bird was a species of brightly colored bird native to the planet Garqi . They were small , no larger than the hand of a Human , and had orange and red plumage . Rdava - birds were commonly found in Vlassy Nature Preserve , where they were admired by visiting tourists . Large numbers of rdava - birds began to die off when a leak at an Imperial research station spread a pollen - carried nerve toxin into the nature preserve . Later , a rdava - bird was instrumental in grounding the starfighter of Corran Horn , a former CorSec officer hiding on Garqi . Biology and appearance . The rdava - bird was a species of avian . They were small and light , with a body slightly smaller than the size of an adult Human hand . Atop a plump body , the rdava - bird had a small , rounded head with a round , black eye on each side and a short , pointed , yellow beak . The bird had a straight tail , about the same length as its body . It had two legs and two wings with a wingspan approximately the same length as its body . With these wings , the rdava - birds were capable of flight . Rdava - birds were brilliantly colored , with red and orange plumage . The tips of the wings and tail were darker , while the underbelly was lighter - colored . Behavior . The rdava - birds grouped into small flocks . Those living within the Vlassy Nature Preserve were not shy of visitors and were known to alight on tourists ' hands or to approach the sailships that traversed the nature preserve . The rdava - birds were active during both daytime and nighttime hours . History . The rdava - bird evolved on Garqi , an agriworld in the Cassander sector . They were particularly found within the Vlassy Nature Preserve , 800 kilometers southwest of Garqi ' s capital , Pesktda . The nature preserve encompassed the Vlassy River and was unsuitable for agriculture due to its rugged bluffs and canyons . Birdwatchers from the both the native Garqian population and offworld tourists visited the Vlassy Preserve to enjoy the brightly plumed birds . Shortly before the Battle of Yavin , the Galactic Empire annexed Garqi and the remainder of the Cassandran Worlds . Under the Empire ' s hegemony , the botanist Chine Gabbard attempted to transform native hafa vines into a host capable of carrying nerve agents . Some nerve - toxin - loaded hafa pollen escaped from Gabbard ' s research station and was carried downwind to the nature preserve , where it killed off large numbers of rdava - birds as well as several biologists who tried to investigate the avians ' deaths . Several operative s that were hired by the scientists managed to break into Gabbard ' s facility and obtain the antidote before they succumbed to the nerve agent as well . In 6 ABY , former Corellian Security Force operative Corran Horn , who was lying low on the planet after quitting CorSec , was flying his X - wing starfighter when a rdava - bird was sucked into his starboard engine . The subsequent damage to his starfighter grounded the Corellian while he stored his X - wing in a djorra - covered vehicle shed to make repairs . Many years later , in 20 ABY , the Jedi Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade traveled to the Vlassy Nature Preserve shortly before their marriage ceremony . While looking out over the preserve from a high ridge , several rdava - birds flew past them , and one alighted on Jade ' s finger . Behind the scenes . Michael A . Stackpole created the rdava - birds for his short story " Missed Chance , " originally published in " Star Wars Adventure Journal 7 " in 1995 , and later reprinted as part of the " Tales from the Empire " anthology in 1997 . Following this , penciller Robert Teranishi depicted several unidentified , colorful birds in the Vlassy Nature Preserve on Garqi in the comic book " Union 1 " , published in 1999 . Jason Fry , in composing the Garqi entry in 2004 ' s " Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds " , connected the rdava - birds with the nature preserve , thus retroactively identifying the birds in " Union " as rdava - birds .