There are many different kinds of birds in Tamriel. Their feathers come in a variety of hues, and they can be found almost anywhere.
SpeciesEdit
Bird-of-ParadiseEdit
A type of a bird whose feathers are used for both quills and decorative purposes.
Betva-HenEdit
A type of a bird that lives in Black Marsh. Their feathers are often worn by Argonian elders.
Black BirdEdit
A bird found in Grahtwood with black feathers, a yellow beak, and yellow feet.
Bone HawkEdit
Bone Hawks are undead 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.
CanahEdit
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.
CanaryEdit
Small yellow birds that can be found throughout Tamriel. Canary down is sometimes used to make pillows.
CardinalEdit
Small red birds that can be found in Eastmarch. Their feathers are commonly used to make quills.
ChickenEdit
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.
Chub LoonEdit
Chub Loons (or chubloons) are small, flightless birds that can be found along the coast of Wrothgar and western 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. Oddly, not a single mention of the Chub Loon predates the beginning of the Second Era, and once they arrived, they began invading the habitat of the native horker, disrupting its food supply.
CrowEdit
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.
CurlewEdit
Curlew are large wading birds that are known to live in Cyrodiil.
DuckEdit
Ducks are waterfowl who typically reside in the lakes amongst 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.
EagleEdit
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.
FalconEdit
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.
FellrunnerEdit
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. 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.
Felsaad TernEdit
Felsaad Terns are birds with black heads and white bodies found on Solstheim and Vvardenfell.
Frost EagleEdit
Eagles with white feathers that live in snowy regions like Skyrim and the Wrothgarian Mountains.
Glow RavenEdit
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.
GoldfinchEdit
Small yellow birds found in Cyrodiil.
GoobletEdit
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.
GooseEdit
Waterfowl that are hunted for their meat.
GoshawkEdit
A bird that is sacred to Tava.
Green JayEdit
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.
GristlewingEdit
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.
GuzzardEdit
A featherless flying 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.
HawkEdit
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. Undead variants are known as Bone Hawks.
The ancient Atmorans worshiped the hawk, alongside several other animal totems. Nords often associate the goddess Kyne with the hawk, and are known to use stylized motifs of the bird in their architecture, crafts, and clothing. Similarly, the Khajiiti goddess Khenarthi is sometimes represented as a great hawk. The city of Whiterun was founded on the site of the Skyforge, an ancient forge with a stone hawk edifice which predated the arrival of the Nords and elves.
The hawk's keen sight, accuracy, and rending claws inspired the sword-songs of the Ra Gada, and they were known to engrave their blades with the wings of the hawk. During the Chimeri exodus to Morrowind, Saint Veloth was supposedly guided by a great hawk in the sky. The town of Santaki was home to the Knights of the Hawk during the Third Era.
HeronEdit
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.
Marsh-RobinEdit
Birds that live in Murkmire. Their eggs are reputedly fragile.
OwlEdit
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.
Painted BuntingEdit
A bird found in the Wrothgarian Mountains.
ParrotEdit
Parrots are birds with colorful plumage that 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.
PeacockEdit
Peacocks are feathered birds whose meat is found in many cooked meals.
PheasantEdit
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Pheasants are wildfowl from Skyrim that are often hunted for their meat, which is then salted and roasted.
PigeonEdit
Pigeons are birds found in Cyrodiil and High Rock. Rock Pigeons are known to be eaten by Bretons.
Pine ThrushEdit
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.
RavenEdit
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.
Rock WarblerEdit
Found in the Reach.
SeagullEdit
A bird found along Tamriel's coasts. Their feathers are used in pillows and quills.
Snow OwlEdit
Owls with white plumage that live in snowy regions like Skyrim and the Wrothgarian Mountains.
Terror BirdEdit
Terror Birds, also known as Khrasaat in Ta'agra, are large, carnivorous and flightless birds found in Elsweyr. 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.
VultureEdit
Vultures are scavenger birds found in Elsweyr and Hammerfell that feed on carrion. Terror Birds are described as bearing resemblance to them.
WhippoorwillEdit
A type of bird found in County Bravil.
WraxuEdit
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.
NotesEdit
- Hackwings are interchangeably described as "large birds" and "flying lizards".