the unidentifiable raptor

The bird is dusty. It bulges in unnatural places, an indicator consistent with its age. Back then, bird skins were packed with excelsior until full, without regard to a natural shape. It is 126 years old, but no one actually knows this, not even Corin.

To the untrained eye, it’s a hawk of some kind, and if one overlooks the bulges, an attractive bird. To birdwatchers, raptor biologists, and falconers, it’s a puzzling aberration. It has the double-notched and almost parrot-like beak of a falcon, and a short tail. It has the white eye-stripe, long bird-catching toes, and the piercing, blood-red eye of a mature accipiter. Its overall shape is bulky and powerful.

It is the soft brown of a desert falcon, barred in amber on the breast, with the white undertail typical to all diurnal birds of prey. The tail has three black bars, and a cream-colored tip. There are no unnatural joins or mismatches in coloration to indicate it is a golem or Frankenstein jackalope.

Of the many visitors to the Display Case, a small handful of enthusiasts have begged Corin to loan the raptor for study — “overnight… no, even just a few hours, I’ll get it back to you.” But she refused every time, not even offering a reason for refusal.

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