First Creature!

Niika · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Toronto, Canada

Over the past 4 days I've been lucky enough to have two sightings of this creature. One roughly 3 hours after sunrise, one just past 4.5 hours after sunrise. (makes up for the hours and hours I've spent in Negilahn without seeing a thing Razz

)

Both viewings were fairly lenghty with the Sandscrit? circling the pod several times and stopping sporadically to scoop up mouthfulls of sand or to throw it's head back and utter a piercing screech. It's call is unlike anything that I have ever heard. None of the buttons in the 3 pods that we've seen so far match this call and the creature seems totally oblivious to any sounds or lights that I press.

I have been asking around and I can't find anyone who has seen or heard this thing at night. I suspect that it is diurnal, although not many people spend lenghty amounts of time in the pods after sunset, so this theory could stand further study.

I am surprised that something this large can survive in such a harsh environment. I would love to get a sample of that sand to see whether it contains any organic life. Bring on the Sand Worms! Razz

Imp · Joined: 13 Mar 2007 Posts: 39

I've spent many nights in the Payiferen pod, but nothing has happened.
I have seen the Sandscrit/Desert Urwin several times during daylight hours, however.

The Zoologist · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 2:55 pm Post subject:

The Zoologist · Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:21 pm Post subject:

I think the Sandscrit is somehow tied to the whitish mounds everywhere. Notice that when it strains the sand for food, the sand does not exit again. I believe the sand is actually passed through the digestive tract, and any food that is in it is digested. Also, any large stones may remain in the gizzard, like some other birds. Then, the remaining sand, now purified and white, is excreted into those white mounds. This makes sense to me, as it certainly does not look cold enough for those things to be piles of ice...

Certain species of parrotfish do something similar with coral.
_________________
Am I not Urwinny enough for the Urwin club?

~The Zoologist in Negilahn

Imp · Joined: 13 Mar 2007 Posts: 39

I thought the mounds were just weathered rock. They look almost exactly like the ones in the Alberta badlands.

The Zoologist · Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:38 pm Post subject:

Erik · Joined: 30 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Shorah everyone,

I saw the sandscrit again today (for the fourth time! Shocked

I guess he likes me) and he started eating. That's in itself not so spectacular, but he was eating while he faced me, so I could see all the sand going into his mouth. I immediately tried to snap a picture of it, but then KI said it was full... Sad

And then the sandscrit went away... Sad

I managed to get another pic of him while he was eating, but he was in the distance and wasn't facing me any more.

If you think that he's missing a part of his beak, that's because he has his beak in the sand. Wink

The Zoologist · Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:40 pm Post subject:

I was recently considering labeling the Sandscrit as a subspecies of Urwin. If we are to do this, a new species name is needed. I was thinking of doing it like this:

"Balaenornis ______"

Any ideas for what the name should be?

(Edit) how about "B. Bombus" (booming baleen-bird)? Just a suggestion.
_________________
Am I not Urwinny enough for the Urwin club?

~The Zoologist in Negilahn