Crested Argol

The Crested Argol is a big, insect-eating bird. It is a distant cousin of the Death Snakes (a family that I  will get onto in the near future), a family of snakes that use their venom to take down prey at least ten times their own size. Argols were smaller then their relatives, and their venom was many times weaker. They started hunting insects, but as a snake's jaws are not well adapted to hunting insects, their jaws turned into beaks. After the beaks, as anyone could expect, they immediately evolved wings to chase the insects. As there is no need for warmth so close to the equator, their snake scales did not need to be replaced by warm, soft, feathers(from which they would probably overheat just by sitting in the sun). Crested Argols have two, large, colorful feathers at the end of their skull, probably for displaying in front of the females (that is why we call them "crested"). They are group animals, and the largest groups can come up to even a hundred individuals. There is one strange thing about Argols (especially Crested) that no one has ever explained. In the group, only 1 out of all the chicks that hatched are males, and that only in 2 or 3 females. That is why the male(s) breed with all the females in the group. There are no battles between the males in the same group, but it sometimes happens that two males of different groups fight, and the winner of the of the duel takes all the females of the other group as his own.

Height(at shoulder):1 meter(females and males are the same size)

Weight: 30 kilograms(females)40 kilograms(males) 

Eggs : 10-15

Pregnancy(until eggs are laid): 3 months

Longevity : 9- 12 years

Environment: Places where insects can be found (such as swamps, forests, bogs)

Color: Head feathers range from light purple to dark green, scales mostly light green,sometimes aqua green, wings almost always white, occasionally grey.

Diet: insects, mostly flying insects, such as dragonflies, flies, mosquitoes, bees, yellow jackets, hornets, beetles, butterflies(occasionally); when flying insects not available, grasshoppers, crickets and worms will do.

Social: Very big herds, up to a hundred individuals 

Remember, new animal every sunday!