Maverick-ornithography - Dispatches From The Academy Of Bird Sciences

Of great interest to scientists studying quantum phenomena, Horses are one of eight known multidimensional “keystone” species extant across the explored multiverse. Unlike most fauna whose multiplanar existences branch as they age, Horses begin their lives simultaneously existing across nearly infinite timelines which gradually collapse into a single life-line or “trunk”. Early research suggests this ‘backwards’ tree-of-life to be an evolutionary counter to their otherwise astonishing fragility; by starting at a massive existence advantage these quantum-entangled Equidae are better able to weather their nearly constant murder on the extradimensional level. Unfortunately, this has the knock-on effect of every Horse having total awareness of their thousand daily deaths. This is why a Horse may suddenly startle at a discarded shopping bag or refuse to enter a trailer for transport; in a close worldline that Horse was consumed by a carnivorous Land-jellyfish or maliciously led into the maw of a Deathslug worshiped by the local human-analogue.

i still have to write secret bonus knowledge, add a small gift, fold them, seal them, and mail them. all of this should have been done when i got the requests originally but i am an incredible procrastinator; i am so lucky my patreon supporters are patient and kind souls <3 (at The Academy of Bird Sciences)

Easy to spot in the field by their long limbs and generally self-conscious demeanour, Gangly Blue Herons tower over their multitudinous cousins. Exploited by other ornithoids for their remarkable reach, these elongated birds are often consumed by body image issues as their daily lives rarely bring them into regular contact with other birds of similar stature. This lack of representation engrains a warped standard of beauty, making it much more difficult for these birds to love their own bodies.

Crows do occasionally mourn and hold funerals, but the mechanism for it is incredibly convoluted. Much like the Victorian Crowned Pigeon, Crows are often vessels for reincarnation. Unlike VCPIs, individual crows hold one complete soul rather than a fragment spread across the entire species. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be too much of an issue as a soul loses most of it’s knowledge when it enters a new body for the next round of corporeal existence. However, a quirk of evolution has made the being of Crow largely compatible with the essence of a human. There are of course some ‘translation errors’ but by and large the general personality of the Ātman remains intact when going from Human 🡢 Crow. In rare cases this can include learned rituals and basic knowledge of the world gained in their previous incarnation. So, when the right essence with the right experience (e.g. a funeral director) slots into a particularly compatible crow, knowledge of funerary customs and a general familiarity with the Kübler-Ross model can in fact be retained. When this particularly unusual reincarnation integrates with the local aggravated assault of crows, this knowledge can be shared and thus comes the phenomenon of crow funerals.

Intruders from an elseworld where all fish look like that, Mola Mola can barely cope in our oceans. Unaccustomed to a vast and boundless ocean full of jerks, these aesthetically anomalous fish are the targets of relentless bullying by practically everything else that dwells in the sea. To date efforts to curb this hurtful behaviour from the more pugnacious pelagics have been met with failure, and Mola Mola continue to be harassed.

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