Mockingbirds

Mockingbirds are one of the many and diverse birds in Terra Aviun. They are medium-sized songbirds who are related to passerines genetically. They generally have a slender and their legs tall, with longer tails than the average length. Mockingbirds have small heads, and a long thin bill with a hint of a downward curve. Their wings are short, rounded, and broad, making the tail seem long in flight. Mockingbirds are socially monogamous. The two sexes look alike except that the male is slightly larger in size than the female. They can mimic any voice almost some of which include a siren, other bird species, and insect species as well. This helped them to convey a variety of things in different ways.

Mockingbirds are one of the more common birds, seen scattered around Terra Avium along with ducks, chickens, and various other birds. The largest population of mockingbirds can be found on the country-side borders of Rajamerak, bordering the Prairie Lands. They tend to live in grassy areas with vegetations like hedges. They ear mainly insects (beetles, earthworms, moths, ants, etc.) and a variety of berries. They've been seen collecting, storing, and eating sap from farmed trees.

They mate for life, and are very loyal to one another. The parents can be seen singing atop balconies and roofs, a sign of long-lasting romance and deep love for one another; they also bring children up too. The parents can be found almost always together. Their homes' architecture usually match that of the kingdom's or the village's, but if they want to show off, their houses can be built differently to match their style or their family's style.

## CULTURE

Due to the Ruins of Aftermaths, many birds have become highly territorial, including the mockingbirds. They don't trouble others unless they are provoked. They are protective of their territory and flap their wings and sing songs to drive strangers away from their homes if they deem them a threat.

When their mate dies, the night seem like a peaceful time, but the silence was also dreadful so they sang to the night, and to the silence. They are singing to themselves to cope with their lost, and they are also sing to the wind, which is believed to be spirits of the dead. The wind in the silent night symbolize the spirits are listening, and the emotion of the song transcends into the spiritual realm to be heard.

Mockingbirds sing that song even when their partner/loved one is dead, and they do it almost everyday to remember both the death and the memories. The song is not soft, it's loud and clear almost to the point of piercing, and it would be made intentional and vivid to show emotion and care. The intensity varies as per the message they try to communicate.

## HISTORY

They’re were pardoned of all charges during the Ruins of Aftermaths because they had a big part in helping the Avians survive as well as unite them. The mockingbirds wanted their family and friends to survive in both the Great Deosolation and The Ruins of Aftermath, but their supplies were dwindling. Mockingbrids realised that they needed to work together with other birds to help eachother and trade. So they established the postal system, and it started small, connecting communities together.

Other birds took notice, and joined in too. It got bigger as they started to care about other birbs, and the postal system kickstarted as a simple system used across two continents to deliver infos and tips on how to survive. After the war ended, the postal system was not used for some time as people now want to focus about in-country business. But after a long time, the birds decided to use it again, and the system got its own name: MTDS. More tubes were built, connecting more and more countries and homes together.