Physiology

Evolution
Raptors evolved from small, 'Compy' like creatures that lived in fields and valleys. When the breed was smaller, males were larger and more powerful, one or two males ruling over a pack of females, and the raptors were insentient.

Then, there was a great extinction, wiping out most of the larger carnivores. Rapt call this "The Great Dying, The Great Hatching", and it's kind of a creation story. Maia, the Raptorian Goddess(deities range from Clan to Clan, but Moonsister, Serpent, etc are pretty much the same in stories, and Maia is the oldest), killed those that threatened her Chicks with a crazy disease(that's why many Rapt fear Crazy Diseases so much - they say Maia is coming to take them away for her New Chicks to prosper). The raptors grew larger, taking over the valleys, and soon all the other land, becoming one the most dangerous predator on earth - armed with sentience and a deadly arsenal of claws and muscle - and they hardly ever traveled alone.

The One that Became Two - Rapt and Deinok
Deinok and Rapt use to be the same species, as much as the Rapt(and some Deinok) would hate to admit. The Deinok evolved from smaller raptors, who were chased from old Clans and Packs because of their small size and weakness. They fled to the deserts and mountains, places the raptors didn't dare enter, becoming a hardy race of creatures. Because many were always being pursued, they became nomadic and fleet-footed, as opposed to the other raptors who would stake out a territory and keep it all their life, and developed thick, feather-lined necks and backs, to protect from bites and scratches. They proliferated, traveling in large, wandering packs, and trying to stay out of the way of their aggressive, larger cousins. The small raptors became the Deinok, which was derived from a warning squawk/call the raptors used to shout when Deinok were around("DeeerrrnnnnAWCK!!!")

In the old times, before sentience came about, raptors would run the small raptors away from their packs, but as the rules of the Old Ways came into being, the Deinok were slowly accepted. Many Deinok and Rapt were still bitter though, and tension grew, coming to an all time high with the emergence of the New Ways.

Turnover - From Dominate Males to Ruling Females
Around the time the Deinok race was coming into being, there was a turnover within raptor packs. The females were becoming more and more clever, having to organize hunts and protect chicks(Males mostly slept and ate. Their biggest job was fending off rivals and mating - like male lions of today.) As the males grew lazier, the females grew powerful. Some started to challenge their patriarchs - and some of them won.

The females were doing strange new things, like communicating in a complex series of grunts, whistles and chirps they developed while on the hunting field. They were becoming much more proficient in hunting, as they were soon able to figure out how to fool any kind of prey, making them run right into ambushes. A few were also using things like rocks and stones to scare the prey. Most of the old males failed to understand, and those were run out of the pack by the now larger females and the more clever, young males that caught on.

Some of the males stooped so 'low' as to join Deinok packs, but most of them died. Unintelligent males and females still exist to this day, mostly melding into Deinok kind.

Within the packs and slowly forming Clans, things were changing. The leaders were actually teaching things to chicks, instead of just making them watch. The grunts and whistles were becoming words. As their intelligence grew, so did their curiosity, and they sought to make explanations for everything, thus was the start of religion and philosophy. The raptors were able to remember more then mere images, but causes and effects as well. They started show each other everything each learned, so none of this new knowledge was lost.

The former animalistic killers had become something else. They were thinking and feeling killers. They were pondering killers, killers that could jump into a situation, evaluate all the possibilities, then chose the best and most efficient one.

Raptors were dead. The Rapt People had been born.

Diet

Hunting
Hunting is, of course, the main way raptors eat. They will scavenge and forage as well, but they evolved by hunting down large herbivores in groups of 2-10 raptors. Hunts usually begin by slowly separating a sickly or weak animal from the herd by spooking it, or making an odd noise it would come investigate. Then, once alone, it would be ambushed. Sometimes the prey is chased away from the herd by a few raptors, who lead it toward the rest of the waiting pack.

Most blows come from their claws, especially the foot-long scythe on the inside of each foot. Their jaws are powerful, but most of their prey are large and have thick bones and tough skin that are hard for their teeth to damage without breaking and chipping. Their jaws are mostly for chewing and ripping flesh from bones, though they sometimes are able to suffocate smaller prey by clamping teeth around their jugular or esophagus.

Active or growing raptors need about 200 pounds of meat every few days. Sometimes, especially in the harsh winter months, they'll gorge themselves and not have to eat for a week. One thing that is flourishing in these dark times is prey - raptors seem more busy killing each other, now.

Fruit, Carrion and Bugs
Raptors sometimes enjoy a fruit as a snack, especially large citrus fruits. Since they can eat and quench their thirst at the same time, they'll sometimes live off of fruit if they're traveling, but they still need meat.

Some raptors, namely the Crunchies, will gladly eat carrion, unless it's really disgusting and could make them sick, or steal kills from other predators(even other Rapt). Others find it disgraceful to eat something you didn't kill.

Small chicks love bugs. Not only are they fun to chase, but some make a good, if not odd, snack if you catch them.


Raptorian Body
Colorations
Raptors come in almost every natural color - any shade of brown, tan, grey/black/white, green, yellow, orange-red, and a few shades of blue even, as well as colorful splotches, spots, stripes, streaks, dapples, etc. Each Clan has a specific coloration that's common among it's members - a raptor of a certain Clan would probably bear it's resemblance, or become and outcast.

Sizes and Builds
Most raptors, male or female, are within the range of 7-10ft tall, 18-23ft long(when the tail is held erect), weighing 600lbs-1 ton. Females tend to be slightly larger and stockier, except in the Skaar clan and packs withing clans that are devoted to the New ways.

Raptors are usually thin and sleek, sometimes naturally, mostly because of slight starvation. The bigger and stockier a raptor is, the more strength they'll have, but they will lose speed and agility, or maneuverability in small spaces like forests.

The Senses
Sight: The Rapt's best sense is eyesight. They have hawk-like vision, able to focus on something in the distance with ease, and are very sensitive to motion, especially at night. Though their night vision is poor(they are diurnal creatures, active during the morning and afternoon the most) they can see colors as well as any human. The placement of their eyes also allows them to see a wider space then humans, and they can look in other directions without having to turn their head as much. This feature evolved so they wouldn't have to move, possibly giving themselves away, while watching their prey.

Hearing: Their next best sense is a tossup between their smell and hearing. Their hearing is very good, though they aren't able to focus on one sound that well(they get very confused when too many sounds are going on at once) They also get headaches easily, especially from a nearby shout. They're use to hearing calls in the distance, as whoops and squawks were often used by packmates to communicate over a distance, like wolf howls. They could focus on prey animals bellowing in the distance as well.

Smell and Taste: The Rapt's sense of smell is average by animal standards, but very good compared to humans'. Because they are 'distance creatures', use to operating away from pack members or prey, they developed hearing and eyesight instead of smells, as a smell would only work if the wind was blowing a certain way. Smell is used most often in encounters with other raptors - certain smells often indicate social status, gender, where they're from, and emotions. Thus, despite their average sense of smell, smell plays a large part in Rapt culture.

Raptor taste is poorer then a humans', though their tongue can sometimes be used to catch a scent - especially a scent with raptor hormones in it.

Feeling: Raptor hide is thick and leathery for the most part, so their skin isn't that sensitive, but they do have quick reactions.

Misc
Rapt tails can become stiff and hard. This is to aid balance and steering when they're running all out.

Most raptors have a crest of feathers along their neck. This may be a wispy crest of soft, flowing feathers, or a thick, stiff mohawk. It may only be a few feathers, or it could extend all the way from their snout to their tail tip. Crests are often the color that's along the raptor's back - if the raptor is tan with black stripes, the crest may be the same way, striped like a zebra's mane.

Claws are long and grow all the raptor's life. They're made out of a thick substance like fingernails, though they have a bone core. Claws on the forepaws are 5-8 inches in length, while the vicious claws on the hind feet are 12-18 inches in length, and a few inches thick at the base.

Life Cycle
Egg to Chick
Raptors hatch over a period of a few hours, working their way out of the egg with help of their tiny claws and egg tooth.

When first hatched, they're helpless, only a little over a half foot tall and a foot long, their eyes not even open. They navigate by feel and smell mostly. They never leave the nest, and if they do tumble out by accident, they'll almost certainly be eaten or stepped on if someone doesn't save them quickly. The chicks are fed by adults who regurgitate meat for them.

After a few weeks, the chicks will become more aware and get a better control over their bodies. They'll be able to run and hop, and will probably try to scramble out of the nest and wander around the den. They'll pester and play and tumble until their parents go nuts - for they're in their Terrible Twos(two months, that is)

First Years
Around 5 months of age, the chicks will be old enough to accompany their parents on outings and socialize with the rest of the pack, though it's far too dangerous for them to hunt yet. At about 8 months, after weeks of training and preparations, they'll go on their first hunt.

At year 1, the chicks will enter puberty, and at 2, they'll be nearly fully grown. (2 months are almost equal to a 'year' in a raptor lifespan.)

Adulthood
When a rapt becomes an adult, they can either stay with the pack, or travel. Many choose to travel for a while, then return to their family packs, or join new ones. It's also when they find their Diamir, or "Life Love", their mate. Not every raptor takes a mate, but many do.

A raptor enters 'midlife' in human years at about 8-10 years. As they age, their scales and feathers will fade, and they'll become weaker and more susceptible to illness and injury.

Death
Few raptors have the luxury of dying of old age. Most are killed in hunts, battles, stricken by some illness, starved/dehydrated, or succumb to the elements or in natural disasters.

Age Chart
A raptor year is about 5 human years, as soon as the raptor reaches adulthood. Few raptors live past 6 or 7 years.

Category

Hatchling
Chick
Juvenile
Adult
Adult
Adult
Aging Adult
Aging Adult
'Midlife'
'Midlife'
'Midlife'

 Age

Egg-3 Weeks old
3 Weeks-5 Months
5 Months-2 Years
3 Years
4 years
5 years
6 years
7 years
8 years
9 years

 In Human Years...

Birth-6 Months
6 Months-4 years
5 years-20 years
20-25 years
25-30 years
30-35 years
35-40 years
40-45 years
45-50 years
50-55 years
10 years 55-60 years

Etc. 18 years would be 100 human years.

Reproduction
Females
Females are the larger of the genders, but they aren't quite as colorful. They tend to have feather crests more often, and be thinner and sleeker.

As for reproductive organs, they don't have anything but a small slit near the tail base that acts as a vagina. They also have scent glands around their tailbase, neck and jaws that give off an inviting scent to males.

Males
Males are smaller, stockier, and often sport colorful crests and snouts.

Like terran birds and reptiles, everything's internal for a male.

Hermaphrodites
There are a few rare cases of Rapt with genetic defects that give them both male and female organs, or cases where they start out female and end up male later in life, after puberty. Most of these rare raptors die from other genetic defects, killed by ashamed parents or packmates, or stillborn, but there are a few out there. They often keep it a tight secret, and roll in the scent of one gender they most resemble to cover up their bisexual bodies.

Mating Dances
Raptors in love dance often. This is not quite a dance in the normal sense - rather, a series of extravagant head bobs, chirps, bows, running, jumping, and just moving in tandem with each other.
The first dance - Courtship Dance - allows the female and male to check each other out, both physically and emotionally. They might sometimes mock charge each other, attempt to play, or just talk. The male usually starts the dance, expressing interest in the female, and if she returns the interest, she'll join in the dance. If not, she'll ignore him, maybe even attack him. It's just like a human asking another human to dance. ^_^

After they've performed a full Courtship dance or two, they're Naimir(Starting Love) A true bond hasn't yet been formed, but the two will often go off on their own, groom each other, nuzzle, etc. They might dance a few times again, a short version of the courtship dance to affirm their love. Then, when both feel they are totally ready, they will perform the Dance of Joining.

The Dance of Joining is a final confirmation that these raptors are indeed DiamirSa(Plural of "Life Love"). This is the most creative and exaggerated dance a raptor will ever perform, and is a spectacle to anyone watching(though they normally perform in private) It will start with a chase, usually the male pursuing the female playfully, until the female reaches a nice place she likes. Then, they'll start slow, circling in a wide circle around each other, bowing, nodding, and the female opening her scent glands, showing her invitation to the male. The dance will start to get a bit more frantic and fast, baring their necks to show their trust. Then, as the male draws closer, the female will bow her head to her chest, exposing the nape of her neck. This is the signal that she's ready, and the circle will close, the male mounting the female, gently biting the nape of her neck to hold on, and mating. They may repeat this several times through the night.

After this, the couple will announce to their pack(s), if they have one, that they're Diamir. Raptors become Diamir most often in the late winter and early spring, because of their biological clock.

The ceremony varies slightly from Clan to Clan, but this is the main outline all follow.

Pregnancy and Nesting
Females carry eggs for about two months before laying, and the eggs will incubate for about a month or a few weeks. A Raptor will often get the urge to build a nest or dig a den when she's near laying. Then, she'll spend up to a day laying eggs, her mate protecting her and not allowing anyone else near the den.

The female will not leave the nest for the first week, her mate will have to bring her food.