Galin
Galin, Called Chicken-Cats by any human who sees them, are a genera of Jinani, or 4 legged bird, from the Planet Collena. Highly intelligent, they hunt prey with ambush tactics, and will occasionally gather in large groups to take out larger threats, While Greater Gallin were occasionally raised for their meat, this practice ended centuries ago, and Regalti sources for poultry primarily comes from other species of Jinani (such as Ikandis). Lesser Galin are mostly extinct in the wild, being replaced almost entirely by their domesticated versions, which are also kept as pets by a good many Regalti.
Etymology and classification
The fact that Gallus, Latin for Rooster, is very similar to the word Galin, the Fevarik word for this species, is likely a coincidence. While there are certainly some superficial similarities in the heads between these chicken-cats of Collena, and actual Chickens of Earth, this is most likely an example of convergent evolution more than anything. Even so, if an earth scientist were to classify a Galin, they would put it in the same order of life as Galliformes of Earth (Chickens, Turkeys, Quails, etc.) because of the visual similarities between the creatures.
Evolution
The evolution of Four legged birds instead of two legged varieties is because all Tetrapods (Ampibians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals) on Collena have an extra set of limbs in the upper dorsal area of their backs. While this commonly forms a set of extra tails, in the case of birds, this started to evolve into a set of wings and eventually most birds on Collena could fly or glide in some way. The few modern birds on Collena that do still fly (Called Lekanni or Void Birds) look remarkably similar to a griffon from Earth based legends, except these birds have talons on all four legs and have much larger wings.
For how this affected the evolution of Galin, they started out as gliding birds, using large flight feathers on their wings to glide from tree to tree. But, as ecological roles in the sky were taken by Lekanni and flying reptiles of various types, Galin returned to the ground, and their wings atrophied into the tiny things we see on modern Galin. Their bodies adaped for running and ambush style hunting. Their eyes adapted for night vision, and they evolved a wide number of specialized calls for communicating between others of their species.
Conservation Status:
No Concern
Classification
Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Genera: Gallus
Species: G. Quattour
Common Name(s):
Galin (Common) Chicken-Cats (Human)
Geographic distribution
Characteristics
Lesser Galin are medium sized animals with elongated torsos and short legs. Their legs end in two sharp talons with a nonweight bearing claw, or dewclaw on the back of the leg. Their beaked heads are actually somewhat large for their body size compared to other birds. This is due to their larger brains compared to other birds. Males tend to have a deep red crest/comb of some kind on the top and sides of their head. Females normally lack this feature.
The 'wings' on their backs are rather small and pathetic in size. When a Galin is falling from a large height, they can cause the wing to flatten and spread out the feathers, helping it to survive large falls by never hitting terminal velocity. The tails at the end of their body are rather short, but has the longest feathers on the creature. Feathers tend to be brown and turn red closer to exposed skin on the heads.
Greater Galin are considerably larger than Lesser Galin and have shorter claws. Their eyes don't have the ability to see in the dark and their heads are slightly smaller. Their beaks also have a shorter ratio to their body size compared to Lesser Galin.
Note that Domesticated Galin are similar in size and profile to their wild relatives, the Lesser Galin. The best way to tell the difference between them is in their feather coloring. Domesticated Galin also tend to have duller claws as a result of slective breeding, and their crests can be in many more different shapes and sizes.
Ecology
Lesser Galin tend to fulfil the ecological role of small carnivores, and they hunt a great variety of small animals that would otherwise have no natural predators. They have several ways to catch prey. Most often they will ambush hunt, hiding in grass or bushes, or waiting from above to pounce on smaller animals. They will grasp onto prey with their claws and then use their beaks to rip the creature apart. After the creature is dead, the Galin will stay with the carcass and pick it clean os any meat before moving on. Domesticated Galin are very similar.
Greater Galin don't hunt unless their primary food source is unavailable. They tend to eat Hanging Jellies, which require almost no tactics to kill, just a resistance to their poisons. All subspecies of Galin are highly resistance to Jellyfish venom.
All Galin are omnivores, and when meat is unavailable, they will peck at the ground and peck at plants, looking for seeds and berries. Their beaks can rip apart soft flesh easily enough, but are also developed for crushing seeds.
Relationship With Regalti
There was a time when Regalti kept Greater Galin as a sort of livestock. They would keep several hundred in the same enclosed area. The Galin would take care of themselves by eating the hanging Jellies floating over the fields, such as Balloon Jellies and occasionally Skyshells. Regalti would supplement their diets by feeding them with surplus food items from other sources, such as fish, seeds, and more.
For Lesser Galin, Regalti tolerated their presence throughout history because the Galin would hunt small animals that were stealing from the Regalti food stores. Eventually abandoned Galin eggs were kept warm by Ragalti, then hatched and raised. Over thousands of years, Galin eventually became fully domesticated. Regalti selectively bred them to be different sizes and have different body shapes, and bred out the sharpness of thei talons.
As Pets
Domesticated Galin make great pets for children or those who want an animal that is almost always calm and wants nothing more than to be near you for warmth. They are very low maintenance pets, can be litter trained, and can be fed almost anything, though they do prefer meat.
There are several things one must keep in mind if they want a Galin for a pet. First, They are similar to Earth cats, but they are also still birds. Females need a nesting area to lay their eggs, otherwise you might smell a surprise weeks after the egg went bad.
Second, they get really loud and angsty when they want food, and will peck at your skin and try to dig their claws into you until you finally feed them. Some are particular about what they like eating and will sometimes get angry or just ignore you if you don't feed them what they like.
"Oh gods, these birds are so adorable!"
"I want one!"
"I want one!"
-Asha
"...I miss Fiona.."
-Sarah, ...Misses her Earth Cat.
Third, they have a tendency to find feathers for nesting material and are mean enough to pluck them right off of a living thing, so try to avoid keeping them close to your face for long. (Note: Regalti have feathers on their heads, not hair like Humans.)
Fourth, they can live just fine around other animals, but if you keep a hanging jelly as a pet, make sure to spray its skin every few weeks with a bittering agent or the Galin will attempt to eat the tentacles.
Comments
Author's Notes
I do need to flesh out this species just a little more, mainly in its behavior and how it's more similar to a cat than a bird, also explain how the Lesser Galin was nearly driven to extinction and replaced by their domesticated versions, but I'm happy with everything for now.