Citipati

Behaviors in nature

The Citipati is a speedy and intelligent Oviraptor, often found in the plains and desert biomes, in a never-ending search for food and resources. These Oviraptoridae prefer feeling the sun on their backs, being most active during the day, as they forage for nuts, berries, roots, and even the occasional mushroom. They are quick to react to movement, and perceive it as possible food or a predator. Citipati's use their strong and muscular legs to outrun or even outswim any predator attempting to hunt it, choosing to flee rather than fight when it comes to larger foes. Smaller creatures, instead, are faced head on, oftentimes becoming a meal to these omnivorous oviraptors. Citipati will either snatch up smaller prey, such as raptors, and deal devastating pecks and bites while grasping them in their strong arms. Larger prey will be subject to devastating kicks from the Citipati to stun the prey, before dealing lethal slashes to the hide of their victim. During night time, these Oviraptoridae will retreat to the canopy of forests or even into small caves, appearing to almost fear the darkness.

Social behavior

Citipati are extremely loyal to their flock mates and consider each individual to be an important member of the flock. To ensure their loyalty and bond with one another, they will partake in grooming exercises and playful games. During the night time, they will all roost closely together, sharing warmth and comfort, while a few serve as lookouts against predators. Some Citipati play the role of guardians, throwing themselves into battle in order to protect the flock as a whole. When a flock mate is threatened or under attack, these guardians will race over to the member, putting themselves between the flock mate and the danger. They will lower their heads, raise their wide feathery, fan-like tails, and spread out their feathered arms to appear larger, before letting out a hissing rattle noise to ward off the danger. Once all flock mates have reached safety, these guardians will lead the danger away before returning to the flock. If a member of the flock is greatly injured, they are given immense care until they recover from their injuries.

Recommended behaviors

╸Citipati are talkative and warble constantly, even if they are not in a flock.
╸Citipati sometimes will approach larger dinosaurs, mostly herbivores, and attempt to pick ticks and parasites from their skin.

Courtship

The decision to mate is made by the majority of flock members. Due to the ratio of female Citipati being larger than male Citipati, groups without males or very few males must often travel to heavily wooded areas, where they will begin to let out long and deep warbles and calls, using the trees to carry their sounds farther. Female Citipati without a mate will often hear these calls and find their way to the calling individuals. A male who is interested in joining the group will respond to these calls, approaching the interested members carefully. In order to gain entry, the male must begin to prove his worth by displaying a ritualistic dance. As the male Citipati dances, he will flash his feathers, hoping to show them how well he takes care of himself. If the majority of the group agrees to accept the male, they will surround him, warbling friendly and playfully, inspecting their new male and begin to take part in grooming exercises. If the majority of the group rejects the male, they will simply hiss and spit at him, chasing him away from the immediate area, before resuming their calls for a different male to join.

Nesting & offspring

Once eggs are ready to be laid, Citipati will return to heavily forested areas, finding either dense foliage or a small outcropping of rock ledges to have their nests on. These Oviraptoridae are extremely meticulous about their nests, and the few times squabbles in the flock may happen is when the flock is building the nest to lay their eggs in. Citipati will lay all their eggs together in one or two nests, taking turns with one another incubating the eggs. Those who are incubating the eggs will not leave the nest for anything, even during the toughest of storms, or the threat of a predator being nearby. Some Citipati are more broody than others, and once the chicks begin to hatch, these Citipati, regardless of being the offsprings' parents or not, will begin to care for the chicks diligently, doting over the new hatchlings and providing them with warmth and comfort. Newly hatched Citipati are extremely vulnerable and weak, needing the constant warmth and comfort of a guardian. Once the chicks begin to grow thicker downy feathers, they will begin to leave the nest and explore their immediate area, pecking and prodding at anything they are curious about and eventually follow their guardians out of the nesting area. Their guardians will teach the chicks different calls in order to communicate better with the chicks as they grow. The chicks will gain more independence and courage as they grow and once old enough, the male chicks are usually pushed out of the flock while females will either stay with the flock, or leave together in small groups to form a new flock of their own.