Griffonoids

Griffonoid birds, similarly to dragonoids, occupy similar niches as tetrapod birds, with the addition of an extra limb set allowing for greater maneuverability. Griffonoids are less common than dragonoids, as birds already occupy the flighted niche, but make up for that via greater, on average, intelligence making use of their extra set of talons. Griffonoids are problem-solvers, they are almost always social, and they build complex nests or dens. Most griffonoids are carnivorous or insectivorous, birds feed on seeds or plants, but rarely griffonoids.

Griffonoids are generally split into two categories: small and large.

• Small griffonoids are around fist-sized, mostly insectivorous. They can flock together in fashions similar to some corvids, forming flocks with hundreds of individuals, depending on time of year.
• Large griffonoids are up to the size of a large cat, mostly feeding on rodents and other small prey. These griffonoids usually band together into flocks of anywhere from 8 to 20 individuals.

Some species of griffonoid have been tentatively domesticated: their sharp intelligence and spatial awareness, as well as facial recognition and ability to be trained, has made them into strong companions for humanoids. Most commonly seen are carrier birds, a domesticated species of dovic griffonoid who are trained to deliver letters and other light parsels to familiar people and places. They are often kept in cities important to trade routes to facilitate communication across distance. They have generational knowledge of destinations, so a keeper doesn't have to re-train new generations of carriers to reach their end goals. For this reason, some are used for help navigating- able to locate specific areas and guide people to them. Ships with a significant number of human sailors often keep one or more carriers with which to send immediate notification in the case of a sailors death, for religious purposes (see Humans/Burial).

Griffons

Griffonoids anywhere between the size of a large dog and a moose are considered griffons. They feed on larger prey, mostly things like deer and other large herbivores, but they may also prey on smaller griffonoids, other raptors, and even humanoids, if the need arises. Many griffons are scavengers, and usually live alone, though some vultic species mate for life. Other griffons are pack hunters, and form groups of about 5-10 individuals. These griffons, as well as much larger solitary ones, sometimes give trouble to humanoid populations in their search for food- hunting livestock, tearing through homes, or even hunting humanoids themselves.