Chapter 714 - Withered Leaf Bird (1/2)

When Shao Xuan arrived, he saw a group of people crowding at the base of the mountain. They didn’t ascend the mountain. There was a wide area at the bottom and they still had to finish dealing with the birds. If they brought them all up the mountain, it would be too noisy.

Shao Xuan could already hear all sorts of birds chirping from afar. He also noticed the iconic feathers of the Feather tribesmen from afar.

The Feather tribesmen held birdcages of all sizes in their hands. Some were made from rattan, and others were made from straw. They used different cages for different species, and the shapes of the cages were different too.

This was the Flaming Horns’ first time seeing so many different types of birdcages.

They had to admit that the Feather tribesmen valued appearance a lot. They even decorated their cages before they came. How fancy!

“Everyone’s back?” Shao Xuan asked a warrior who was craning his neck to look past the crowd.

Seeing Shao Xuan, the person immediately answered, “Yes, Hunt Leader Ta and the others are back, but Ta only brought back eggs. The Feather tribesmen brought back both eggs and birds.”

They even brought eggs back? Were they planning on hatching them?

Seeing Shao Xuan arrive, the people who were crowding there made way for him to pass.

Shao Xuan noticed how the Feather tribesmen were displaying the birds they caught. Some were even let out of their cages. They had probably been tamed, but most of the other birds were still in their cages. They were all put out for display.

Most of the birds the Feather tribesmen caught had pretty feathers. They either had a fancy tail, a peculiar crown, or colourful body parts.

Shao Xuan was worried that the people from the Feather tribe didn’t bring back any birds that were of any value. Even though they already emphasised before that they didn’t care about the birds’ appearance and only cared about their usefulness, he couldn’t be too sure if they got what the Flaming Horns wanted. Before seeing the results, no one could be sure.

Shao Xuan didn’t look at the Feather tribesmen’s birds for too long. He walked directly in Ta’s direction.

Gui He and the others had all arrived. They were all listening to Ta speak.

“The feather tribesmen said that the Withered Leaf Bird is active both day and night, especially around sunrise and sunset. They are more active at night than in the day. I think our most pressing concern is nighttime security and since it still isn’t tight enough, I think we can give these birds a try.”

Ta had a beast hide scroll in his hands. Shao Xuan went over and took a look at the scroll. It was a drawing, most likely drawn by someone from the Feather tribe. Although it looked abstract, most of the bird’s features were drawn out clearly. One could tell just by skimming through.

Ta handed Shao Xuan the scroll right away so he could take a good look at it. After all, Shao Xuan was one of the people who was going to decide whether they should keep these withered leaf bird eggs.

“Why is it called a withered leaf bird?” Shao Xuan asked. The Feather tribe definitely gave this name.

“They said this bird looks like a pile of withered leaves. Their mother would cover the eggs in dead leaves and let them hatch inside.” Ta repeated what the Feather tribesmen told him. He only roughly said what he could remember.

Even though it wasn’t a complete explanation, Shao Xuan understood the general idea.

In summary, the colour of the withered leaf bird’s feathers and the way their mothers hatched them was what gave them this name.

Compared to other birds, this was a rare hatching method. This was more similar to the hatching methods of reptiles who usually hid their eggs in a pile of dirt mixed with dried leaves. When those leaves ferment in the dirt, heat would be generated from the reaction. The withered leaf birds were utilising the heat from the fermentation to hatch their eggs.

Most of these birds successfully hatched from this method, proving that this bird species was not stupid at all. This made the Flaming Horns satisfied with the bird they found. At least they weren’t stupid. Even if they didn’t have a nice appearance, the Flaming Horns didn’t mind.

Shao Xuan looked again at the drawing on the beast hide scroll. There were a few concentric circular patterns around the bird’s eye, similar to a radar’s. “What is that thing on its head?” Shao Xuan asked. There was something similar to an antenna on the bird’s head.

There was a long thin hair that grew from the bird’s head in the drawing. This hair was about half the bird’s height.

“Oh, that’s the crown feather of the withered leaf bird. The Feather tribesmen couldn’t appreciate this crown, so their ancestors stopped taming these birds a few hundred years ago. But they said that these birds are very alert and sensitive to danger. The crown feather on their head would stand erect whenever there’s danger. They have many different chirping sounds too, and they would chirp with a different sound for each situation. This makes it easier for us to know what it sensed. This type of bird isn’t suitable for expedition trips and can’t fly too far. They usually just stay active in one area, so we don’t have to worry about them flying away. That’s why I think we can try taming these birds as per the Feather tribe’s recommendation.”

Ta repeated what the Feather tribesmen had told him and explained it to Shao Xuan. He wasn’t someone who could be easily swayed by the Feather tribesmen but he agreed with the reasons why the Feather tribesmen recommended this bird species.

“But why don’t the Feather tribesmen tame them too? Is it really just because they don’t look attractive?” someone asked.