Birds of Gor
FINCH, Whistling:
A flighted bird, which is insectivorous, that can be found at the ground level of the rain forest.
“In the ground zone, and on the ground itself, are certain birds, some flighted, like the hook-billed gort, which preys largely on rodents, such as ground urts, and the insectivorous whistling finch, and some unflighted, like the grub borer and lang gim”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
FLEER:
A large, hook billed bird that hunts at nigh for nocturnal forest urts.
“My master looked upward, at the moons. From through the trees, on the other side of the camp, came what I took to be the sound of a bird, the hook-billed, night-crying fleer, which preys on nocturnal forest urts”. - Slave Girl of Gor, page 117
FLEER, Long-Billed:
A bird that inhabits the emergent level of the rainforests of Schendi.
“In the level of the emergents there live primarily birds, in particular parrots, long-billed fleers, and needle-tailed lits”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
FLEER, Prairie:
This yellow, long winged and sharp billed bird is sometimes known as the 'maize bird' or the 'corn bird', due to the belief that it is usually the first bird to find food.
“The fleer is a large, yellow, long-billed, gregarious, voracious bird of the Barres. It is sometimes also called the Cord Bird or the Maize Bird” - Savages of Gor, page 246
FRUIT TINDEL:
A bird that inhabits the canopy zone of the rainforests
“In the 2nd level, that of the canopies, is found an incredible variety of birds, warblers, finches, mindars, the crested lit and the common lit, the fruit tindel, the yellow gim, tanagers, some varieties of parrot, and many more”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
GANT, Arctic:
A migratory bird that nests in and on the cliffs in the Hrimgar Moutains in the southern border of the polar north. Its eggs can be eaten as apples when frozen.
“I stepped aside to let a young girl pass, who carried two baskets of eggs, those of the migratory artic gant. They nest in the mountains of the Hrimgar and in steep, rocky outcroppings, called bird cliffs, found here and there jutting out of the tundra. The bird cliffs doubtless bear some geological relation to the Hrimgar chains. When such eggs are frozen they are eaten like apples”. Beasts of Gor, page 196
GANT, Jungle:
A bird related to the marsh gant that inhabits the river in rainforests
“Along the river, of course, many other species of birds may be found, such as jungle gants, tufted fishers and ring-necked and yellow-legged waders”. Explorers of Gor, page 311
GANT, Marsh:
A small, long legged and horned bird which has a broad bill and broad wings. It is hunted by marsh girls and the rence people imitate its cry to use it as a surreptitious means of communication.
“I heard a bird some forty or fifty yards to my right; it sounded like a marsh gant, a small, horned, web-footed aquatic fowl, broad-billed and broad-winged. Marsh girls, the daughters of rence growers, sometimes hunt them with throwing sticks - Raiders of Gor, page 4
GIM, Horned:
A small bird about the size of a sparrow with the look of a tiny owl which has tufts over its eyes and a purplish color to it and also inhabits the forests of Northern Gor.
“It was a small bird, about the size of a sparrow, but it looked a bit like a tiny owl, with tufts over its eyes. It was purplish. It looked at me quizzically. It was perched on some split piping”. - Captive of Gor, page 39
GIM, Lang:
A bird that inhabits the ground level of rainforests
“In the ground zone, and on the ground itself, are certain birds, some flighted, like the hook-billed gort, which preys largely on rodents, such as ground urts, and the insectivorous whistling finch, and some unflighted, like the grub borer and lang gim”. Explorers of Gor, page 311
GIM, Yellow:
A bird related to the horned gim that inhabits the second level of rainforests
“In the second level, that of the canopies, is found an incredible variety of birds, warblers, finches, mindars, the crested lit and the common lit, the fruit tindel, the yellow gim, tanagers, some varieties of parrot, and many more”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
GRUB BORER:
An insectivorous bird that inhabits the ground level of rainforests
“In the ground zone, and on the ground itself, are certain birds, some flighted, like the hook-billed gort, which preys largely on rodents, such as ground urts, and the insectivorous whistling finch, and some unflighted, like the grub borer and lang gim”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
GULL, Coasting:
This bird can be found in Torvaldsland with its broad, black tipped wings and tail feathers. It is similar to the vosk gull and its feathers are used on the war arrows of Torvaldsland.
“Its feathers were five inches long, set in the shaft on three sides, feathers of the black-tipped coasting gull, a broad-winged bird, with black tips on it wings and tail feathers, similar to the Vosk gull”. – Marauders of Gor, page 23
GULL, Schendi:
Inhabiting the area around Schendi on the Thassa, they nest on land at night.
"Those are Schendi gulls,"said Ulafi, pointing to birds which circled the mainmast. "They nest on land at night." - Explorers of Gor, page 99
GULL, Vosk:
This bird is of the Vosk Delta and Vosk River. It wingers on the prairies of the Wagon Peoples and flies North in the spring when the ice breaks up. Its feathers are used on sheaf arrows.
“We then waited about a minute, and I saw several birds--river gulls--flying north. "Those are Vosk gulls, " said Kamchak, "In the spring, when the ice breaks in the Vosk, they fly north." - Nomads of Gor, page 137
HERLIT:
This is a large, broad winged bird of the Barrens. Another name of it is the 'Sun-Striker' or 'out-of-the-sun-it-strikes' for its habit of striking with the sun above and behind it. Its feathers have a yellow tip with black and it is carnivorous.
“It was peeled Ka-la-na wood and, from its top, there dangled two long, narrow, yellow, black-tipped feathers, from the tail of the taloned Herlit, a large, broad-winged, carnivorous bird, sometimes in Gorean called the Sun Striker, or, more literally, though in clumsier English, Out-of-the-sun-it-strikes, presumably from its habit of mangeing its descent and strike on prey, like the tarn, with the sun above and behind it”. - Savages of Gor, page 143
HERMIT, Yellow-Breasted:
a bird of the Northern Forest, it beats with a sharp beak against trees to hunt for larvae.
“Somewhere, far off, but carrying through the forest, was the rapid, staccato slap of the sharp beak of the yellow-breasted hermit bird, pounding into the reddish bark of the tur tree, hunting for larvae”. - Hunters of Gor, page 106
HOOK-BILLED GORT:
A carnivorous hunting bird of the rainforests which preys on ground urts.
“In the ground zone, and on the ground itself, are certain birds, some flighted, like the hook-billed gort, which preys largely on rodents, such as ground urts, and the insectivorous whistling finch, and some unflighted, like the grub borer and lang gim”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
JARD:
This is a small scavenger bird found near Lydius. It flies in large flocks which can strip the meat from a tabuk in seconds.
"Most of the animals we leave for the larts and sleen, and the jards." The jard is a small scavenger. It flies in large flocks. A flock, like flies, can strip the meat from a tabuk in minutes. "Even the jards die, gorged with meat," said the man near us on the platform”. - Beasts of Gor, page 149
LIT, Common:
a bird found in the second level of rainforests
“In the 2nd level, that of the canopies, is found an incredible variety of birds, warblers, finches, mindars, the crested lit and the common lit, the fruit tindel, the yellow gim, tanagers, some varieties of parrot, and many more”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
LIT, Crested:
a brightly plumaged bird found in the second level of rainforests
“In the 2nd level, that of the canopies, is found an incredible variety of birds, warblers, finches, mindars, the crested lit and the common lit, the fruit tindel, the yellow gim, tanagers, some varieties of parrot, and many more”. Explorers of Gor, page 311
LIT, Needle-Tailed:
a bird found in the emergent (highest level) of rainforests .
“In the level of the emergents there live primarily birds, in particular parrots, long-billed fleers, and needle-tailed lits”. Explorers of Gor, page 311
MINDAR:
A short-winged, yellow and red bird which has a sharp bill that is used to drill into the bark of flower trees for larvae and grubs. Can be found in the rainforests.
“Kisu pointed overhead. "See the mindar," he said. We looked up and saw a brightly plumaged, short-winged, sharp-billed bird. It was yellow and red. "That is a forest bird," said Kisu. The mindar is adapted for short, rapid flights, almost spurts, its wings beating in sudden flurries, hurrying it from branch to branch, for camouflage in flower trees, and for drilling the bark of such trees for larvae and grubs”. - Explorers of Gor, page 282
PARROT:
A bird found in the emergent level of the rainforest some varieties are also found in the level of the canopies of the rainforest.
“In the level of the emergents there live primarily birds, in particular parrots, long-billed fleers, and needle-tailed lits”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
TARN:
crested hawk-like bird large enough to be saddled and flown, it is used in battle and in racing and is bred for swiftness and aggressiveness.
"Though the tarn, like most birds, is surprisingly light for its size, this primarily having to do with the hollowness of the bones, it is an extremely powerful bird, powerful even beyond what one would expect from such a monster. Whereas large Earth birds, such as the eagle, must, when taking flights from the ground, begin with a running start, the tarn, with its incredible musculature, aided undoubtedly by the somewhat lighter gravity of Gor, can with a spring and a sudden flurry of its giant wings, lift both himself and his rider into the air. In Gorean, these birds are sometimes spoken of as Brothers of the Wind.
The plumage of tarns is various, and they are bred for their colours as well as their strength and intelligence. Black tarns are used for night raids, white tarns in winter campaigns, and multicoloured, resplendent tarns are bred for warriors who wish to ride proudly, regardless of the lack of camouflage. The most common tarn, however, is greenish brown. Disregarding the disproportion in size, the Earth bird which the tarn most closely resembles is the hawk, with the exception that it has a crest somewhat of the nature of a jay’s.
Tarns, who are vicious things, are seldom more than half tamed and, like their diminutive counterparts the hawks, are carnivorous. It is not unknown for a tarn to attack and devour his own rider. They fear nothing but the tarn-goad. They are trained by men of the Caste of Tarn Keepers to respond to it while still young, when they can be fastened by wires to the training perches. Whenever a young bird soars away or refuses obedience in some fashion, he is dragged back to the perch and beaten with the tarn-goad. Rings, comparable to those which are fastened on the legs of the young birds, are worn by the adult birds to reinforce the memory of the hobbling wire and the tarn-goad. Later, of course, the adult birds are not fastened, but the conditioning given them in their youth usually holds except when they become abnormally disturbed or have not been able to obtain food. The tarn is one of the two most common mounts of a Gorean warrior; the other is the high tharlarion, a species of saddle-lizrd, used mostly by clans who have never mastered tarns. No one in the City of Cylinders, as far as I knew, maintained tharlarions, though they were supposedly quite common on Gor, particularly in the lower areas - in swampland and on the deserts." -Tarnsman of Gor
TARN, Racing:
A tarn that is lighter and smaller than normal tarns. Used for racing, its wings are shorter and broader than other tarns and its beak lighter and narrower.
“The racing tarn, interestingly, is an extremely light bird; two men can lift one; even its beak is norrower and lighter than the beak of a common tarn or war tarn; its wings are commonly broader and shorter than those of other tarns, permitting a swifter take off and providing a capacity for extremely abrupt turns and shifts in flight; they cannot carry a great deal of weight and the riders, as might be expected, are small men, usually of low caste, pugnacious and aggressive”. - Assassin of Gor, page 144
TIBIT:
a small, thin-legged bird that lives on tiny mollusks found on the shores of Thassa.
“I heard the cry of sea birds, broad-winged gulls and the small, stick-legged tibits, pecking in the sand for tiny mollusks”. - Hunters of Gor, page 247
TUFTED FISHER:
a water bird that inhabits the rivers of the rainforests
“Along the river, of course, many other species of birds may be found, such as jungle gants, tufted fishers and ring-necked and yellow-legged waders”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
TUMIT:
This large, flightless bird is about the size of an ostrich with its long hooked beak and is carnivorous.
“I saw one of the tumits, a large, flightless bid whose hooked beak, as long as my forearm, attested only too clearly to its gustatory habits”. - Nomads of Gor, page 2
UMBRELLA BIRD:
bird that lives in the lower canopies of rainforest.
“In the lower portion of the canopies, too, can be found heavier birds, such as the ivory-billed woodpecker and the umbrella bird” - Explorers of Gor, page 311
USHINDI FISHCER:
long-legged, wading bird near the Schendi; long, white, curling feathers used for headdresses.
“His head was surmounted by an elaborate headdress, formed largely from the long, white, curling feathers of the Ushindi fisher, a long-legged, wading bird”. - Explorers of Gor, page 236
VEMINIUM BIRD:
a bird with a beautiful song not otherwise described.
“Perhaps in one of these times, due to no fault of Mistress he was charmed by her voice, as by the songs of the veminium bird.” - Magicians of Gor, page 363
VULO:
a tawny-colored poultry bird similar to a pigeon that also exists in the wild; used for meat and eggs.
“She was a peasant, barefoot, her garment little more than coarse sacking. She had been carrying a wicker basket containing vulos, domesticated pigeons raised for eggs and meat”. - Nomads of Gor, page 1
WADER, Ring-Necked:
a variety of water birds that inhabits the rivers of the rainforests
"Along the river, of course, many other species of birds may be found, such as jungle gants, tufted fishers and ring-necked and yellow-legged waders”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
WADER, Yellow-Legged:
a variety of water birds that inhabits the rivers of the rainforests
“Along the river, of course, many other species of birds may be found, such as jungle gants, tufted fishers and ring-necked and yellow-legged waders”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
WOODPECKER, Ivory-Billed:
bird found in the lower canopies of the rainforests
“In the lower portion of the canopies, too, can be found heavier birds, such as the ivory-billed woodpecker and the umbrella bird”. - Explorers of Gor, page 311
ZAD:
This is a large, broad winged black and white bird which has a long, narrow, yellowish hooked beak that is found in the Tahari and scavenge on carrion.
“I heard, a short time later, wings, the alighting of one or more large birds. Such birds, broad-winged, black and white, from afar, follow the marches to Klima; their beaks, yellowish, narrow, are long and slightly hooked at the end, useful for probing and tearing. The birds scattered, squawking, as a Kaiila sped past. The birds are called zads”. - Tribesmen of Gor, page 232
ZAD, Jungle:
A less aggressive cousin of the Tahari zad, this small, yellow-winged bird is found in the rainforests. It scavenges with its long, yellowish beak which is slightly curved.
“One was attacked even by zads, clinging to it and tearing at it with their long, yellowish, slightly curved beaks. These were jungle zads. They are less to be feared than desert zads, I believe, being less aggressive. They do, however, share one ugly habit with the desert zad, that of tearing out the eyes of weakened victims. That serves as a practical guarantee that the victim, usually an animal, will die”. - Explorers of Gor, page 415
ZADIT:
This bird is a small, tawny-feathered and sharp billed insectivore of the Tahari. It feeds on sand flies and other similar insects with its sharp bill. They often land on kaiila and spend long periods hunting the sand flies that infest the host animal.
“The zadit is a small, tawny-feathered, sharp-billed bird. It feeds on insects. When sand flies and other insects, emergent after rains, infest kaiila, they frequently alight on the animals, and remain on them for hours, hunting insects”. Tribesmen of Gor, page 152
