Lore:Bird

Birds (Skyrim)

There are many different kinds of birds in Tamriel. Their feathers come in a variety of hues, and they can be found almost anywhere.

Species

Albatross

Albatross are a type of seabird. They were the namesake of the Order of the Albatross, as well as various inns and taverns in the late Third Era. Rough-sewn albatross dolls are sometimes given to the youngest knight aspirants in order to help them plan for their adventures.

Found in:

• Lore

Barn Owl

A sedentary nocturnal Owl which lives in the marginal areas of the woods, rocky areas and cultivated countryside.^{[citation needed]}

Bird-of-Paradise

A type of a bird whose feathers are used for both quills and decorative purposes.

Betva-Hen

A type of a bird that lives in Black Marsh. Their feathers are often worn by Argonian elders.

Found in:

• Lore

Black Bird

A blackbird

A bird found in Grahtwood with black feathers, a yellow beak, and yellow feet.

Found in:

• ESO

Bone Hawk

A bone hawk

Bone Hawks are undead skeletal birds, similar in appearance to a regular hawk but with black feathers and an exposed skull. They are sometimes hunted and used to create rings and amulets. Bone Hawks are associated with vampires, and can be found circling Castle Volkihar.

Found in:

• Skyrim

Buzzard

The buzzards are medium-sized predatory birds that can catch a wide variety of prey, from small rodents to insects. They adapt to many different habitats, especially preferring forest and woodland areas.^{[citation needed]}

Canah

A canah

The exotic bird of Summerset Isle, they are bred for their beauty.Shrines of Kynareth have been known to bless individuals with the ability to transform into one if an appropriate offering is given.

Found in:

• Redguard

Canary

A canary

Small yellow birds that can be found throughout Tamriel. Canary down is sometimes used to make pillows.

Found in:

• ESO

Cardinal

A cardinal

Small red birds that can be found in Eastmarch. Their feathers are commonly used to make quills.

Found in:

• ESO

Chicken

A chicken

Chickens are docile, domesticated birds common throughout Skyrim and High Rock. They are bred for their eggs and meat. Although mainly encountered around farms and smaller settlements, they can even be found within cities and towns. The Riverwood White Hen is a hardy domestic chicken found all along Skyrim's White River, said to have been originally bred in the old town of Riverwood. As a sign of the blessing of Mara, certain breeds of chickens (such as the Spring Chicken) lay eggs with shells in a variety of colors. The black Daemon Fowl is speculated to originate from the Deadlands or Ashpit, lays flaming eggs, and has glowing red eyes.

Found in:

• The Infernal City, Skyrim, ESO, Legends

Chub Loon

A chub loon

Chub Loons (also called chubloons or loons) are small, flightless birds native to coastal regions and usually encountered in frigid environments. They are primarily encountered along Tamriel's northern shores and ice floes, specifically in High Rock and Skyrim. They make an audible honking noise when startled and will run away from known dangers. They can often be found huddling in large groups in order to retain body heat. Chub Loons do not flee from danger and are often caught and eaten as food as a result. Though clumsy and awkward on shore, Chub Loons fly gracefully and are nimble swimmers. Their diet consists of small sea fish of all types. They are also known to make affectionate pets.

Found in:

• ESO

Coot

Coots are water birds that are known to inhabit Cyrodiil.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• The Infernal City

Corimont Mouth-Plover

Corimont Mouth-Plovers are birds kept by high-status Argonians to aid in fang cleaning after meals.

Found in:

• ESO

Crow

A crow

Crows are black birds that can be found all over Tamriel. A group of crows is called a "murder". They are commonly associated with the Daedric Prince Nocturnal. They should not be confused with their Daedric counterparts, Crow Daedra. Crows are sometimes cooked and eaten, and some Nordic platters exist to serve them in three ways: stuffed, roasted and boiled. Scarecrows are kept in fields to keep crows away from crops.

Found in:

• ESO

Curlew

Curlew are large wading birds that are known to live in Cyrodiil.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• Greg Keyes Novels

Duck

Ducks are waterfowl who typically reside in lakes among the reeds. Their young are known as 'ducklings', which have yellow, purportedly hideous feet. They are common hunting prey, with their feathers being used for pillows and, in conjunction with their leather, high-end coats. They are also hunted for food, with duck breast, tongue, and eyes being high class meals in Imperial cuisine. One method of hunting involves the usage of duck calls, whistles made to emulate the sounds of ducks.

Found in:

• Lore

Eagle

Eagles are birds of prey. They are used as the emblem of the Aldmeri Dominion, and elven weapons and armor often have eagle motifs. The eagle is one of the ancient Nords' totem animals.

Found in:

• ESO

Falcon

A falcon

A bird of prey found at the Elsweyr-Valenwood border and in the Rift. They can be trained as hunting companions. People who train falcons are called "falconers", and trained falcons can be outfitted with harnesses. Falcon feathers make sturdy quills. Gyrfalcons of High Isle could be trained to spot and retrieve plants for their handlers. The druids believed that it was the will of Y'ffre.

Found in:

• ESO, Legends

Fellrunner

A fellrunner

Fellrunners are flightless birds found primarily in desert regions such as Hew's Bane and Northern Elsweyr. They can also be found in the Summerset Isles and parts of Cyrodiil. Fellrunners are harmless, and as their name implies, will run at the sight of anything suspicious; this reflex is often used against them by hunters, due to the fact they will run too fast and trip, breaking their thin bones. They are incapable of flying and swimming due to their tiny wings.

Found in:

• ESO

Felsaad Tern

A felsaad tern

Felsaad Terns are birds with black heads and white bodies found on Solstheim and Vvardenfell.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• Skyrim, ESO

Frost Eagle

A frost eagle

Eagles with white feathers that live in snowy regions like Skyrim and the Wrothgarian Mountains.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• ESO

Glow Raven

A glow raven

A raven whose eyes and extremities emit a faint purple glow. They can be found in Evergloam and Apocrypha. They also appeared in Elinhir when it was ravaged by magic during the Interregnum.

Found in:

• ESO

Goldfinch

Finches foraging for food around a shrine

Small yellow birds found in Cyrodiil.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• Legends

Gooblet

A taxidermied gooblet

The now-extinct gooblet was a flightless bird with iridescent feathers that lived along the Hammerfell coast prior to 1E 808. By the mid-Second Era, rare taxidermied birds still existed and gooblet feathers were sometimes worn by priests of Onsi, or used to make toys.

Found in:

• ^(?)

Goose

Dead geese

Waterfowl that are hunted for their meat.

Found in:

• ESO

Goshawk

Tava's Beak, a rock formation on the southern coast of Hew's Bane.

A bird considered sacred to Tava.

Found in:

• Lore

Green Jay

A green jay

A bird with a green body, a blue head with black markings, and tail that is blue at its tip. It can be found in Rivenspire and Wrothgar.

Found in:

• ESO

Gristlewing

A gristlewing

Gristlewings are ragged, skeletal birds. They seem to congregate in places where death is prominent: they appeared in the Imperial City while it was ravaged by the Daedric forces of Molag Bal during the Planemeld. They also flocked around the Gray Host during their resurgence in 2E 582, and at Mount Kilkreath after it was ravaged by a Harrowstorm. Gristlewings were also present in Grayhaven.

Found in:

• ESO

Guzzard

A guzzard

A featherless carrion bird found in Upper Craglorn. They have beaks, sharp teeth, talons, bat-like wings, and red eyes. Their tails are smooth and have no plumes. They have short crests on their heads, and spikes lining their back.

Found in:

• ESO

Hawk

A hawk

Hawks are birds found throughout Skyrim. They are hunted for their beaks, feathers and eggs, which can be used as alchemy ingredients. They are territorial animals who rarely venture far from their nests. Though predatory, they only hunt smaller birds and vermin. Trained hawks have been used to convey orders during battle. Nighthawks are a species of hawk that can be trained to deliver written messages.

Found in:

• Skyrim

Heron

A heron

Herons have long, thin legs. They dwell near rivers and eat fish. They can be found in Anequina, Blackwood, Hew's Bane, Murkmire, Pellitine, The Reach, and the Summerset Isle.

Found in:

• ESO

Ibis

An Ibis statue

An Ibis is a heron-like bird with a long, curving beak. In Yokudan theology, they were considered sacred and oft associated with Tu'whacca, the God of Souls. His veneration is best illustrated in tombs and burial places, where Tu'whacca is represented in statuary and reliefs as a figure with the head of an ibis and the body of a man. These resting places are also sometimes replete with numerous funerary statues that that depict a winged ibis-lion creature, such as the Al-Danobia tomb in Hammerfell. Tu'whacca was once considered the patron of mages, and some Ra Gada spellcasters tipped their staves with finials in the shape of Tu'whacca's sacred ibis.

Found in:

• Lore

Jalfbird

Jalfbirds are avian creatures that are delicious when braised.

Found in:

• Lore

Magpie

A Moorpecker Magpie

Magpies are trainable birds that are kept as pets. Moorpecker Magpies are an intelligent and vain species prized by scholars and mages alike for their keen instincts and trainability. The birds can be huffy and prone to temper tantrums when not rewarded with shiny objects for their work.

Found in:

• ESO

Marsh-Robin

Birds that live in Murkmire. Their eggs are reputedly fragile.

Nightjar

Nightjars are a nocturnal bird that are known to inhabit County Bravil in Cyrodiil.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• Greg Keyes Novels

Owl

An owl

Owls are nocturnal birds found throughout Tamriel. The Owl known as Wise-Wing is associated in northern Tamriel with the god Jhunal, who is sometimes compared to Julianos. A rare species known as the burrowing pixie owl lives in western Tamriel. The ancient Clan Ruskahr of old Orsinium was known as the Owl Clan, and they revered snow owls. The eluvein, or hilas owl, abandons its eggs after laying them. The Altmer use the term "eluvein" to describe people who are cold-hearted or aloof. The owl is one of the ancient Nords' totem animals.

Found in:

• ESO

Painted Bunting

A painted bunting

A bird found in the Wrothgarian Mountains.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• ESO

Parrot

A parrot

Parrots are birds with colorful plumage that are capable of mimicking speech. They are often kept as pets. Gerrick, an Altmer merchant who lived on Stros M'Kai, had a parrot that revealed the location of buried treasure to Cyrus. They are known to be featured in traveling shows.

One man believed the Cyrodilic bird men were actually just parrots who had tall tales spread about them.

Found in:

• Redguard, Legends

Peacock

Peacocks are colorful, blue-feathered birds whose meat is found in several cooked meals.

Found in:

• ^(?)

Petrel

Petrels are seabirds. Some ships, such as the Storm Petrel are named after them.

Found in:

• Lore

Pheasant

A dead pheasant

Pheasants are wildfowl from Skyrim that are often hunted for their meat, which is then salted and roasted.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• ^(?)

Pigeon

Pigeons are birds found in Cyrodiil and High Rock. Rock Pigeons are known to be eaten by Bretons.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• Lore, Greg Keyes Novels

Pine Thrush

Pine Thrush eggs

The Pine Thrush is a bird that can be found throughout southern Skyrim's forested areas like Falkreath Hold and The Rift. Compared to the common chicken egg, a Pine Thrush's egg is a lot harder to come by but it can replace it just as easily in Sweet Nog, a popular warming drink in Nordic cuisine. Their eggs are also used in alchemy. It can restore the consumer's stamina, but also make them susceptible to poisons. Pine Thrushes are not native to Black Marsh.

Found in:

• Skyrim

Raven

A raven

Ravens are black carrion-eating birds. They are associated with the Daedric Prince Nocturnal. Some witches can take the form of an enormous raven. Ravens feature in a few Tamrielic fables, where they are depicted as being clever.

Found in:

• Bloodmoon

Rock Warbler

Rock Warbler egg

A bird whose eggs are found in the Reach.

Found in:

• Skyrim

Seagull

A seagull

A bird found along Tamriel's coasts. Their feathers are used in pillows and quills.

Found in:

• ^(?)

Snow Owl

A snow owl

Owls with white plumage that live in snowy regions like Skyrim and the Wrothgarian Mountains.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• ESO

Sparrow

Sparrows are small birds.

Found in:

Stork

Storks are long-legged birds.

Found in:

Swan

Altmeri depiction of a swan

Swans are large waterfowl known for their graceful appearance, long necks, and distinctive plumage.

Swans are prominent in various Tamrielic cultures. During the Interregnum, kites shaped like swans in flight were a common sight throughout Tamriel.

Found in:

• Lore

Terror Bird

A terror bird

Terror Birds, also known as Khrasaat in Ta'agra, are large, carnivorous and flightless birds found in Elsweyr and parts of the West Weald (typically close to the Hammerfell border). They are very aggressive towards anyone who approaches them or their territory. Terror Birds have a communal nature when it comes to looking after their young and eggs with pack-like behavior, and will attack anything that comes near the nest without hesitation. Terror Birds are also extremely strong and are seen as a challenge by Khajiit warriors, in which the warriors die almost as often as they win against the beast, they have also been recorded taking down a Senche-Cat.

Their diet consists of meat, from animals such as antelope and sometimes men and mer, though the Altmer mistakenly seem to think that a Terror Bird's diet consists of only moon-sugar plants.

Found in:

• ESO, Legends

Tick Bird

A type of bird found in Black Marsh that pick through refuse to survive.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• Lore

Turkey

A rotten turkey leg

Turkey's are a type of poultry raised for their meat. They are served roasted in Colovian cuisine. Clannfear are are compared in appearance to "plate-necked turkeys".

Found in:

• ESO

Vulture

A vulture

Vultures are scavenger birds found in Elsweyr and Hammerfell that feed on carrion. Terror Birds are described as bearing resemblance to them.

Found in:

• ESO, Legends

Whippoorwill

A type of bird found in County Bravil.^{[citation needed]}

Found in:

• Greg Keyes Novels

Wraxu

An extinct bird indigenous to Black Marsh that is related to the terror birds of Elsweyr. They were about as tall as mammoths with tails as long as wagon tongues. Their species was but one victim of the Great Burn in the Second Era. They have a symbolic connection with Sithis dating back to the xanmeer period.

Found in:

• Lore

Notes

• Hackwings are interchangeably described as "large birds" and "flying lizards".

Gallery

• 

  Guzzard concept art

• 

  Unknown tropical bird

See Also

• Bird Men
• Crow Daedra
• Gryphon
• Hagraven
• Harpy
• Quasigriff
• Wraith-of-Crows