Stirge

Basic Information:
This horrid flying creature looks like a cross between a large bat and an oversized mosquito. Its legs end in sharp pincers, and its long, needle-like proboscis slashes the air as it seeks its next meal. Stirges feed on the blood of living creatures, attaching and draining them slowly. Although they pose little danger in small numbers, packs of stirges can be a formidable threat, reattaching as quickly as their weakening prey can pluck them off. The bodies of stirges can be summed as resembling a monstrous cross between a large bat and an oversized mosquito, or an oversized mosquito and a bird. On average their bodies grow to be 1 foot (0.3 meters) in length, with a wingspan of 2 feet (0.61 meters). Males and females are outwardly identical in appearance. Their bodies are short and furry, though some describe them as being covered in feathers that range in shades of rusty red to reddish brown. Their eyes have a yellowish hue. Their wings are membranous and bat-like, interlaced with thin-walled blood vessels. They have four legs that are eight-jointed and end in sharp pincers, which are sometimes said to have a similar hue to their eyes. Their most prominent feature is their long, sharp needle-like proboscis, which is pink at the tip and fades to grey at the base. Newborn stirges are only capable of gliding, not flying, and thus spent the first four months of their lives being carried on their mother's back. Stirge mothers are capable of carrying up to two of their young on their backs.

Encountered in:
Chapter 29: Axeholm Fortress
Chapter 36: Wave Echo Cave Pt.2
Chapter 37: A Narrow Escape

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