The first in a series of dragon guide books that goes deeper into the know information about the dragons of Calluncia. Published in the year 1958 D.E. (Dragonotic Era) this book is considerably old, however is the only guide about dragons.
Mainly us...
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Fan-shaped wings are not the only thing that characterize this dragon. Being just as large as the biggest bee species in existence, this dragon lives a quick paced life as it flies about hunting for soft insects, nectar filled flowers, and honey bee hives. These dragons are also famous for their multi-colored plumage that seems to differ per region. They have adapted to their slim diet by having small, slim muzzle and extremely long tongues, as well as high energy reserves. They resemble hummingbirds from behind, but they are all dragon once you get a good look at them. Their necks are slim, and around medium sized compared to their bodies, its their long, feathery tail that gives them most of their length. Their feathered wings, tails, and even crests are varied in size and color per breed.
As mentioned, they have a variable of colorations and patterns. This is an trait given to them through natural and sexual selection. Natural selection gives them their basic design, but sexual selection within small populations leads to great variation comparing different populations against one and another. Females, though larger, have evolved to be duller and not as extravagant as the smaller males. Males, have evolved a number of different 'talents' to attract mates with. Visual displays being one of them. More into that in the paragraphs below. But all hummingbird dragon breeds lay a honey-yellow tinted white egg, no matter what they look like.
A nest of four eggs is more than enough to the female to raise. The male's job is to aid his mate(s) during the process by bringing back food and occasionally swapping places with them, it it the mother who overall rests in the nest. The nest is made by the male and the number of mates he may have depends on how well its made. The larger the nest is, the more eggs can fit in it, and the more females the male would mate with to produce those eggs.
The eggs incubate for a week and a half, bald, blind, and deaf. Their muzzles are not quite as long as their parents, but are slowly growing as they age. By a month old they are no longer blind nor deaf, and are starting to "bud" their first feathers. Once theses feathers grow out, the young will start to branch within the nest. At six months old the young are pushed out of the nest by their parents, those that fly immediately snag the sides of the nest as soon as they get close enough. The ones that fall to the ground are left alone until they get airborne and join with their siblings on the nest. It is at this age when parents teach their young the best spots to find food and the worst.
By the end of their first year, the young are completely on their own. It is around this time that the males start to grow their new coats in order to attract a mate in the next rutting season next year. For educational purposes, I shall explain these changes, using my own Hummingbird Dragon as an example. Until this threshold, males look exactly like their larger female counterparts. My dragon "Wish" was male, and I did not know this fact until after he molted his original coat. Wish is from the local forests near my cottage. There an old vineyard overgrown it's boundaries after the cottage was abandoned some time ago. The males have adapted violet throats to resemble the alluring color of the purple grapes that now grew rampant in part of the forest. In the other parts of the forest, the ones untouched and free of the vines, the males have a large cap of indigo that resembles certain flowers that the females frequently feed from.
It is obvious that the males who "cash in" on the colors and patterns that attracts the female's attentions have a better chance of reproduction. More experienced males tend to use plants with the same colors to add coloration to the nest that they make, showing their intelligence as well as physical attributes through nest making. A male who exceeds in all of this will provide much for the comming next generations.
Abilities are not that well known. This is due to the lack of true study into these species of dragon other than what makes them look so different. All that we know other than their first two years of life, everything else is provided by the locals. And local lore states that "These dragons have tongues of fire, they do not burn when their thirst is quenched but they become an inferno when attacked by a much larger creature." This is something not yet proven, but will keep in mind.
Tips!: They are said to be completely harmless and very docile, but listen to the locals of your area in regard to these dragons.
