Headbanger Ophan

The headbanger ophan has replace its ancestor where their ranges overlap and expanded its range. They are named for their distinctive method of defense, and intimidation. When threatened, or when attempting to bully other scavengers away from a carcass, they swing their long neck back and forth, building up momentum and turning their head into a wrecking ball. This display is often accompanied by a two-note whistling vocalization. If this fails to scare off the opposition they slam their heads into their foe, potentially crippling large fauna and possibly even killing smaller ones. Their long neck also allows them to pursue the small, burrowing organisms that are their primary prey into their burrows. Most of the rest of their diet is carrion, which can make up as much as half of their diet. They prefer scavenging over hunting and given the opportunity this percentage would be even higher. When hunting on the surface they refer to ambush their prey by hiding their body behind cover such as rocks or shrubs and darting their head forward for a quick killing bite.

Like their ancestors headbanger ophans live in mated pairs known as “bikes”. While pursuing burrowing prey one member of the bike will keep watch while their partner reaches its neck into the burrow. A bike may also be accompanied by their juvenile and subadult offspring, forming a larger group known as a gang. When food is plentiful gangs stay together longer and may number over a dozen. These large gangs become bolder in their scavenging and kleptoparasitism, driving off other scavengers and even predators larger than themselves.

Thanks to the arrangement of tendons and ligaments that help support it the distinctive neck of headbanger ophans is more flexible vertically than it is horizontally. This means that they can bring their neck up into an “s” shaped curve while walking which brings their center of balance over their hips but that it is also able to become semi-ridged when used as a weapon. While they have lost the armoring on most of their neck it is retained and even expanded near the head. They also have a thick, sturdy oral ring with a quartet of raised ridges protected by thick, cornified skin.

Headbanger ophans engage in social grooming, which both cleans them and encourages bonding between gang members. The feathers on their head and neck are small, simple, and relatively loosely attached. This makes them easily lost and replaced. These adaptations help to prevent the accumulation of dirt, offal, and parasites. This is especially important as their head and neck are often extended into carcasses or burrows.

Headbanger ophans have a number of quills on the underside of their tail. Derived from feathers these quills provide a deterrent for attacks from behind. This physical deterrent is accompanied by a visual one as well. Two rows of feathers flanking the spikes bare reddish eyespots, mimicking the eyes of a jewel eyed sauceback.

Like their ancestors they have poor vision, a blurry monochrome inherited from the heart head. They rely more on their keen senses of smell and hearing. They are able to produce greasy tears in response to eyestril irritation which help to flush out what ever bits of dirt or debris are causing the irritation. This is accompanied by swift, sharp shakes of the head.