Alexornis

The **Alexander's toothbird** (*Alexornis regalis*, name meaning "Alex's regal bird") is a species of enantiornithine bird that originally lived from the Bocana Roja Formation of Baja California, Mexico, and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii. The Alexander's toothbird was planned to be included in **Cretaceous Park** in Sacramento, California, but on February 9th, 2047, an unidentified intruder, possibly a man, stole approximately 10 adult Alexander's toothbirds before accidentally opened the cage they were stored in after tripping over, letting the Alexander's toothbirds loose into the modern Californian ecosystem. Ever since that event, the population of Alexander's toothbirds have exploded from just ten to more than a million in almost half a century, and are, by all accounts, thriving. Despite this, the Alexander's toothbirds are not known to be invasive themselves, although they are one of the many prey items of the *Microraptor*, which may be invasive. The Alexander's toothbird is a small bird, growing to be about the size of a sparrow, having a typical length of 16 cm (6.3 inches) and a mass of 24–39.5 grams (0.85–1.39 oz). Alexander's toothbirds have feet covered with feathers, fused fingers that supports wings just as modern-styled birds do (albeit with very large claws), dromaeosaur-like snouts with sharp teeth, and their skulls akin to those of *Archaeopteryx* and other non-avian theropods. The Alexander's toothbird performs a wide variety of sounds, and usually produces high-pitched warbling and single-note cawing noises. The other sounds of the Alexander's toothbird includes whistling, chuckling, and shrieking, and is done by both genders. The Alexander's toothbird is an insectivore that primarily feeds on beetles, moths, caterpillars, flies, termites, damselflies, dragonflies, cicadas, wasps, hornets, spiders, snails, slugs, worms, and other small invertebrates. The Alexander's toothbirds are able to hunt the wasps and hornets effectively unlike most insectivorous animals, being able to pin them down with their clawed feet and toothy snouts, flying far from the wasp and hornet nest, before ripping out the insects' stingers, able to control the populations of wasps and hornets. Alexander's toothbirds are very social bird. It is gregarious during all seasons when feeding, often forming flocks with other species of birds. It roosts communally and while breeding nests are usually grouped together in clumps. Alexaner's toothbirds also engage in social activities such as dust or water bathing and "social singing", in which birds call together in bushes. The Alexander's toothbirds feeds often on the ground, but it also flocks in trees, bushes, and buildings. Alexander's toothbirds sleep with the snout tucked underneath the scapular feathers. Outside of the reproductive season, they often roost communally in trees or shrubs. Nest sites are varied, though cavities are preferred. Nests are most frequently built in the eaves and other crevices of houses. Holes in cliffs and banks, and tree hollows, are also used. An Alexander's toothbird sometimes excavates its own nests in sandy banks or rotten branches, but more frequently uses the nests of other birds such as those of swallows in banks and cliffs, and old tree cavity nests. Breeding takes place during the spring and summer. Following copulation, the female lays eggs on a daily basis over a period of several days. If an egg is lost during this time, she will lay another to replace it. There are normally four or five eggs that are ovoid in shape and light brown with darker brown blotches, and they commonly have a glossy appearance. The colour of the eggs seems to have evolved through the relatively good visibility of blue at low light levels. The egg ranges in size from 20 to 22 mm (0.79 to 0.87 inches) in length and 14 to 16 mm (0.55 to 0.63 inches). Incubation lasts thirteen days, although the last egg laid may take 24 hours longer than the first to hatch. Both parents share the responsibility of brooding the eggs, but the female spends more time incubating them than does the male, and is the only parent to do so at night when the male returns to the communal roost. The young are born blind and naked. They develop light fluffy down within seven days of hatching and can see within nine days. Once the chicks are able to regulate their body temperature, about six days after hatching, the adults largely cease removing droppings from the nest. Prior to that, the fouling would wet both the chicks' plumage and the nest material, thereby reducing their effectiveness as insulation and increasing the risk of chilling the hatchlings. Nestlings remain in the nest for three weeks, where they are fed continuously by both parents. Fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for another one or two weeks. A pair can raise up to three broods per year, frequently reusing and relining the same nest, although two broods is typical, or just one north of 48°N. Within two months, most juveniles will have moulted and gained their first basic plumage. They acquire their adult plumage the following year. The nest is kept clean and the chicks' faecal sacs are removed by the adults. The conservation status of the Alexander's toothbird is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts, the Alexander's toothbird's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.