Tenant Phlyer

The Tenant Phlyer is descended from those Courier Phlyers which lived permanently on Ramul Island. The large beak and powerful jaw muscles of the Courier Phlyer were well suited to breaking through the hard crystalline exterior of Baseejie fruit. It was therefor a minor adjustment for the Tenant Phlyer to go from living in nests atop Baseejie trees to making their homes inside Baseejie trees. These hollow crystal florae provide an inviting shelter from high summer temperatures and inclement weather, along with a ready supply of fruit year-round. Furthermore, the color and structure of these flora provided superior protection against Press-Toothed Bubbleskins and Finback Flunejaws. Because of the many benefits their trees provide Tenant Phlyers are very territorial and will assault other Phlyers that get too close to their chosen tree. They are even known to swoop at the odd foraging Wolvershrog, despite the great difference in size.

The Tenant Phlyer’s size and morphology are adapted to the sometimes-tight confines of crystal florae. Almost half the size of the Courier Phlyer and much sleeker, the Tenant is able to squeeze into very small entrances it makes with its powerful beak. The tail is shorter and more aerodynamic, with the spikes having moved down to a position which better protects its delicate “fins”. The claws are much the same as those found on Courier Phlyers; useful for carrying fruit back to the nest. Coloration is also mostly unchanged, with males displaying bright yellow and blue skin and females remaining a nearly uniform green. The male crest, however, has shrunk and become more streamlined.

The Tenant Phlyer is entirely reliant on the fruit of Baseejie trees. The Greatcap Baseejie and Weeping Baseejie produce fruit year-round on Ramul Island, allowing the Tenant Phlyer to specialize. Their digestive system is even better at processing the “meat” of crystal fruit, while disposing of the inedible shell. The hard pellets which the Tenant excretes litter the ground around their home tree.

Tenant Phlyer social behavior is greatly adapted to their unique form of nesting. With limited space inside their homes this Phlyer has abandoned both flocking and harems. Indeed, a mating pair of Tenants will actively discourage other Tenants from coming near their chosen tree, swooping and pecking at any that come too close. The only time when Tenant Phlyers gather is in the summer for breeding season, when unattached adults will gather in great flocks on the beach. Males will display their colorful skin in the midday sun, hoping to attract the attention of a female. Tenant Phlyers will mate for life in monogamous pairs and locate a tree of their own. Together the two will chew a hole into the crystal foliage and maintain the entrance, ensuring that it does not shrink too much. When the fruit provided by their home is not enough one Tenant will leave in search of fruit while the other remains at the nest to defend it from other Tenants. New or homeless Tenant Phlyer couples will at times try to “steal” a tree when one Tenant is away, so whichever of the pair that stays put must be on guard. Because of this need to stay at or near home most of the time male Tenants are mostly monogamous. A male that attempts to divide his time between two mates and two nests is likely to lose both and few trees provide enough fruit to support a large nesting group.