Ʃʔmoθ θɛkaθi

Dorsal and Ventral Colours of the four age-classes of Wigeon

The θɛkaθi is a genus of tree (ʃʔmoθ family) found in thick woodland ecosystems. It has one specialised inhabitant, the ðɪkɪs klɐθis.

## Biology:

### Descriptions:

#### ʃʔmoθ θɛkaθi (Bluedrop Tree):

The ʃʔmoθ θɛkaθi grows to a height of around 18012 ðɛmɪ (37m). The canopy is relatively short but very broad, spreading over 20012 in diameter. The leaves are around 1 ðɛmɪ in length, obovate in overall shape, with an accentuate base and an accumulate tip. The margin is dentate, with one point around ¾ of the overall length along each side of the leaf. Flowers develop in an inflorescence of three flowers. The inflorescence grows on a peduncle around 3 ðɛmɪ long, growing down from the branchlets on the lower side of the canopy. Each inflorescence has three flowers, arranged 412 hɛθɑb from the other, with the flowers pointing directly horizontal. The perianth whorls of each flower consist of a calyx of 6 short sepals fused for half of their length, and a corolla of six fully fused petals, forming a cone shaped flower with the midrib of each petal extending bare a short ways past the edge of the petals. The removal of nectar triggers the fruiting process.

The fruit are aggregate in nature, with each inflorescence of three flowers producing a three-lobed fused fruit, with three large seeds. The pericarp is a shiny orange when ripe, with bright red flesh.

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#### ðɪkɪs klɐθis (Wigeon):

The ðɪkɪs klɐθis is a species found in thick woodlands, along with ʃʔmoθ θɛkaθi. This species of bird has a wingspan of 1 ðɛmɪ, with elastic skin stretched between the fore and hind limbs. The forewing is elongated with five digits. The first two are unwebbed and short, the last three are elongated and webbed. The webbing extends from just behind the claw of the third fore-digit, between each finger, and from the last finger to connect with the hock of the hindlimb. The webbing also extends between the hindlimb and the tail, from the hock to around ⅓ down the tail. The klɐθis has two thick tails, with webbing between the first third of the length. The rest of the tails are free, unfeathered, and prehensile.

The body is covered in tiny waterproofing feathers which are densely packed. The digits of all limbs, as well as the posterior ⅔ of the tail, are bare skin. The feathers of the body are bright orange to rust in colour, with the borders between bare skin and feathers being typically bright white, with a line of black dividing. The beak is black with a white trim on the lower edge of the upper beak. The ear tufts are black. The skin is often black, but its translucence often gives them a dark brown colour.

The nestlings are plum-purple in colour and covered in soft down, barring only their beak (which hardens over the first few days) and their toebeans. Branchlings are the same colour, but fledged in waterproof feathers in the same regions as adult plumage. Subadult plumage consists of plum purple feathers on the back and orange feathers on the belly.

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### Interactions:

ðɪkɪs klɐθis are dispersed outside of the breeding season, which occurs in the warmest ⅙ of the year. While dispersed, they feed on a wide variety of fleshy fruit, from berries to larger drupes, even if they may be far outweighed by a single fruit. Most fruit is far too large to be swallowed whole, and are usually instead pecked at to remove bite sized chunks. They are exclusively frugivores outside of the breeding season.

During the breeding season, the klɐθis converges in large colonies, with a strong preference to return to their nursery tree, with around 11/12 returning. In years where the population is higher, more will diverge to form another colony, while in years with lower populations, whole colonies dissolve in order to join larger colonies.

These colonies, frequently hundreds strong, form a colonial nest in a single ʃʔmoθ θɛkaθi plant. A portion of the colony would have fared better during the colder months, and would have an egg prepared to be laid. These birds are given exclusive access to the nectar of the θɛkaθi flowers, even when they are too full to fly, other members of the colony will store nectar in their crop and feed them. The nectar provides the essential components to form the egg shell and trigger laying. The fruit of the θɛkaθi begins to ripen to coincide with the hatching of the first eggs.

If a tree is not colonized during any year, the first flowers do not produce fruit, and no new flowers bloom after the first few weeks.

The fruit of the θɛkaθi forms the entirety of the diet of juvenile and non-breeding klɐθis during the breeding season. The colonial nest is wide and shallow, built mostly from woven grass and braced on the larger branches near the centre of the tree. It usually consists of two layers, an underside and ‘roof’, with many access holes on the sides. The young are fed by all members of the colony. The digestion of the fruit is radically different between juvenile and adult klɐθis, with juveniles producing a large amount of waste, which is coloured bright blue and regurgitated in a mucous membrane. While the juvenile is covered in down, they remain in the nest at all times (nestlings). The waste matter is removed by adult or subadult colony members and dropped to the forest floor. Their first fledge starts at around 1012 days old, where the down is replaced by waterproof feathers in the same colour, with bare patches on the membranes, tail ends, and digits. The juveniles then start to move outside of the nest and sit on the branches of the tree while it is not raining (branchlings). While they are outside the nest, they simply regurgitate the waste matter directly out of the tree. Over the next few weeks they grow to adult size and grow subadult plumage, with plum-purple on the back and orange on the belly. They can then start to fly and feed themselves, but remain partly dependent on the colony until the end of the breeding season.

The compounds in the waste material are essential for the plant's reproduction. For a θɛkaθi's first fruiting year, all the seeds will be sterile and hollow inside. It's next fruiting year however, will produce normal seeds, now that the waste material has been gathered and used.

The majority of breeding-age klɐθis lay at least a single egg, with some managing to lay up to 1112 over the course of the breeding season. The average is usually around six, but varies widely depending on initial body condition scores of breeding-age klɐθis and flower and fruit production of their tree. Flower production typically stops at around 5/6th of the way through the warmer 1/6th of the year, but fruit production continues at slowing rates until the first snows. Nearing the end of the season, the newly fledged subadult klɐθis disperse first with the spent breeding-age birds, leaving behind any remaining juveniles and the sub-adults from last year’s clutch. As egg production slows nearing the end of the season, the fruit remaining is usually enough to feed the last wave of juveniles and have them fully fledged by the end of the warm ⅙ of the year.

While they do not start to breed until the end of their second year, subadult klɐθis join the colonies to assist in the care of the next clutch. This allows them access to the fruit of the θɛkaθi, and a safe place to fledge into their adult plumage. The social bonds formed during their non-breeding year are critical to their success in the next year, as klɐθis tend to feed each other in priority of social connection as well as need. The subadults stagger their moults, with those moulting remaining safe inside the nest, but also maintaining cleanliness by removing waste membrane globules and grooming both the juveniles and each other. klɐθis tend to live to a maximum of 6 years, with egg production increasing each year.

The seeds of the θɛkaθi are used by several θɛʃɾə ʍɔkɛɾɪ to make flour. The hollow seeds of the plant's first fruiting year are also collected and used to make a variety of items, including instruments, toys, tiny pots, and jewelery.