APurrfectPossum

☽ The Screowl ☾

Appearance:

The Screowl appears like a mixture of a cat and owl in appearance, reaching up to one foot in height. It has a owl-like head which has two fully black eyes along with a beak and the ears of a cat. Its feathers can vary from that of a snowy, barn, brown and desert owl. The Screowl has four legs on which it has the claws of an owl and on its back two medium span wings are located. Both are used for transportation of the animal. 

(i know its not accurate but its just for the general idea)

Habitat:

Where the Screowl can be found depends on its feathering. The Snowy Screowl is native to the cold snow areas while the Desert Screowl is native to the warm and dry desert environment. Their appetite also varies on where the Screowl is native off of. The Snowy owl prefers small rabbits while the Desert Screowl prefers small reptiles. The Brown and Barn Screowl can mainly be found around forest areas. They can be quite picky when it comes to prey due to their large amount of opportunities but a mouse or small bird is always welcome. If meat is not an option, bugs will be their second choice.

Temperament:

The Screowl is mainly docile, it will flee when in danger. It will not hunt creatures bigger than its own form but depending on the size difference it might show dominance so they know not to mess with the Screowl. Showing dominance will mostly be done through hissing, screeching at the other creature and by puffing up its feathers and fur.

The Screowl is a tameable creature. In order to tame the Screowl, you will need to find a baby from its nest and feed it as well as spend time with it so it will begin to trust you. Though it is possible to tame adult Screowl’s, it's highly recommended you find a baby instead.

Hunting & Diet:

The Screowl is a carnivore, meaning they eat meat. They hunt prey native to their environment. The Screowl does eat grass like cats and dogs when they're sick but only in small amounts. The Screowl will, no matter what, prefer meat over plants as it needs the nutrients provided by meat to survive, and the overall taste is better to them. With that said it is impossible for the Screowl to go vegan.

Finding a mate:
In order for a Screowl to find a mate they will first go out to find a potential mate, Once they found a Screowl of the opposite sex they will roll and coat themselves in their favorite smell. Once they coat themselves they will head back to their potential mate. If the opposite sex likes the smell the two Screowls will start their mate trial, to see if their chosen mate can take care of the family their willing to start. A mate trial can vary from weeks to months, depending on how well it goes. During this trial period the Screowl, if tamed, will be distant and even slightly disobedient to their owners, because during a trial period their mate will be their number one priority. If your Screowl is tamed, and finds a wild mate they will bring their mate over to your homestead and if the mate trusts you they will both stay with you. But if the mate declines you, your Screowl will choose their mate over you and leave with them, returning to the wild.
 

 Bathing:
As stated under the section ‘Finding a mate’ the Screowl bathes or coats themselves with a scent they personally like, prefered scents by Screowls can vary from flowers to herbs, or even the sweat of their owners perhaps. They will wear it for a few reasons, either due to good memories with their owners, or things that remind them of something special to that specific Screowl. Every Screowl has their own preference in scent, so no Screowl is the same. If not for mate searching they will do this at least twice a day. Next to scent coating they will also take baths in shallow water sources, After such baths they will groom and pick their fur as well as feathers for any missed spots and after such they will sunbathe to dry.

Social behaviour:
A Screowl judges your intentions by your behaviour towards it, meaning it will be hostile if it thinks you're a threat to it and it will be shifty and scared if you try to pet it. It is recommended to leave the adults alone, especially if they have newborn Screowlets. They will defend their baby’s with their life. If it doesn't view you as a threat it will keep a close eye on you until you become a threat in its eyes or flee in general. 

If a Screowl is tamed and loves you they will show affection to you by grooming you and gently tugging your skin using their beaks, none painful of course. Besides that they also tend to give kitty massages with their claws pulled back and lay on top of you to keep you warm.

If a Screowl is not fond of you and is protective of a nest it will act aggressive towards you. Screowls both stalk and sweep down towards their prey when hunting, so it will most likely do the same to you. Aggressive Screowls will stalk and circle you either from the sky or from tree branches while hissing. If that didn't give the descendant the hint they will go over to their attack.  When they see an opportunity to attack they will sweep down and open their paws, revealing a set of four claws. They will do an attempt to scare the descendant before gliding up again. Once and if they made their point clear they will fly off and flee, if the Screowl was on a nest they will return to their nests, to avoid damage to itself.

Intelligence:

Screowls are very intelligent and independent creatures. They can understand numerous things. Things they understand, next to their way of survival, varies from the basics of body language to certain emotions and actions of a descendant. Tamed Screowls, when trained properly will be able to understand certain commands, like names from certain individuals or the way home or back to their owners after a trip. Though Screowls may understand basic commands if taught properly, they will not be able to understand full conversations in any language. Besides that they have fantastic short and long-term memories of people and their surroundings. So will judge you on their memory of you!
Besides having a good memory they also have the possibility to learn a small amount of tricks, like basic fetch or certain tricks in the air like loopings or even flying out to get help and deliver letters!
 

Life Cycle:

A Screowl, when in the wild can live up to 12 and a half years. Though in captivity when taken proper care of they can reach ages around 15 - 17 years.

Their life starts in a litter with their parents. They will be fed by their parents until they are old enough to fly, this is mostly around the age of 1 - 2 years. They will practice flight with their parents and once they contain full control of their flight they leave the nest to start their own lives.
They will develop interest in mating around the age of around the age of 5 - 6 years, though it depends on the Screowl itself and how quickly they develop. Within its years alone it would have found scents it likes to try and charm a potential mate of opposite sex. After and if the mate trial is complete they will search a place to nest and build their family.
Once they have successfully created a nest they will spend around 2 years preparing for a litter, meaning they will make sure the Screowlets are warm enough even on high heights. Then the deed happens, obviously.

A female Screowl will remain within the nest after being impregnated while the male goes out to hunt. This goes on for about 5 months until birth.
And with that the entire cycle starts over again.

Hoarding:

Screowls are known for their hoarding. They tend to collect any and all items for either memory or because they like them. Items like these could vary from arrow tips to sticks, maybe even shiny things like coins or gems. Screowls often bring an item from their hoard to their owners, if tamed as a sign of affection. Wild Screowls leave their collectibles in their nest, leaving it as a hidden treasure to bribe descendants away from their babies.

Trivia:

• The Screowl is a very intelligent creature.

• The Screowl can rotate its head up to 180 degrees without moving its body!

• When a Screowl is happy it will purr like a cat does.

• The Screowl does not meow or screech like a normal owl or cat, it will sound more like a ‘Screow’, that's where it gets its name from.

• The Screowl is loyal to one mate, they will stick with them until their last breath.

• The Screowl belongs to the Mammal species, which means they give birth.

• Like cats, an amount of Screowl babies is called a litter. 

• Screowl’s can produce around 3 babies, in rare occasions up to 4.

Redlines:

• The Screowl can only fly for short distances at a time. It won't be able to fly all across the map.

• Once a Screowl’s life mate dies the Screowl will grow depressed and might die quicker than usual.

• If one does not properly take care of their Screowl they might grow aggressive and will escape when given the chance.

• Screowl’s are defensive, they will not go out of their way to fight (crp) descendants.

• It is impossible for a Screowl to become vegan.

• One slice with a sword can kill if not critically damage the Screowl

Art / Screowl Variations:
(These are over-al designs but feather pattern and color can vary to your liking)

Barn Screowl:

Snowy Screowl:

Brown Screowl:

Desret Screowl:

 

(Black and white sketches):

(OOC)

original art links: