Tyto

Tyto reside on the earth of Belous, below the clouds. Mostly peaceful, tribes of tyto are only separated by preferred climate and eating habits, and will often come together for gatherings and exchanging resources. These gatherings allow information to be passed between tribes and customs to be shared, and considering most groups do not want or need more territory, these are generally a relaxing time for everyone involved. They hold the belief that peace is the ultimate goal, only disrupted when they are hungry.

Birds of prey are the main species of tyto that are found. They are the size of an average human. Being this large, they can only glide and somewhat fly, requiring large amounts of energy to do so. While every tyto has wings, their physical shape varies. Some tyto have separate arms from their wings, though most have their arms and wings fused. Along with tail feathers, they have an actual prehensile tail. There is a marsupial-esque pouch along their chest for carrying young and storing objects. They communicate through both avian chirps and psychic connection. The chirps take care of simple, common phrases and meanings while their mind fills the need for more complicated topics. All tyto are capable of transforming completely into birds, though they tend to lose control of their actions

Unlike bugs, tyto are less split by their species, though some species are more or less associated with certain traits than others. Eagles are often of regal, influential families, though there are no true “leaders” in tyto society. Metallurgy is commonly practiced among owls. Scavengers are often knowledgeable of anatomy and medicine due to their diet of corpses.

Tyto are the top predators of Belous, rivaled by only a few large reptilians. They will either hunt in groups to take down large prey or hunt individually for fish and small mammals. Their digestive systems consist of four main sections: The throat and crop, the abomasum, the stomach, and the lower intestines. The throat is large and flexible, able to swallow bigger objects than a human could, and spit them back up. The crop acts as an extra stomach, with no digestive juices to break down food. The abomasum is slightly larger, and secretes a slimy substance that will sap the energy of prey into the lining. From here anything can be easily vomited out, but past this point it becomes far more difficult. The stomach is the most powerful part of the digestive system, having to keep up with the massive appetite of tyto. Food is automatically pushed to the intestines, which absorbs the most energy for the body.

There are smaller tyto, now having hidden themselves from larger tyto out of fear of being eaten. Rather than being human sized, their height matches that of their respective species, allowing them to come in a wide range of heights. Most never reach the size of a bird of prey species.