Urkaku

Urkaku are Bird Wyverns introduced in Monster Hunter: Evolution.

Physiology
Urkaku are large, flightless, bird wyverns that have a shaggy brown coat of feathers and onyx colored scales and quills. Urkaku has a long, blue, s-shaped neck that ends in a small, heavily armored head. The jaws of Urkaku lack any teeth and instead have a heavy hammer-like beak. Urkaku have small vestigial wings, these wings possess a single clawed digit. The legs of Urkaku are long and heavily muscled, the feet have large talons and a sickle shaped claw. The tail of Urkaku is thick, but very short and difficult to notice under its shaggy coat.

Behavior
Urkaku are territorial monsters and are surprisingly aggressive for a Bird Wyvern. They are known to ferociously assault threats and predators.

Placement In Food Chain
Urkaku are located somewhere in the middle of the food chain, being large and powerful enough to be able to dispatch most smaller threats, but still capable of being preyed upon by larger monsters.

Behavior Towards Other Monsters
Due to their territorial nature Urkaku are known to attack smaller monsters, regardless if they pose a threat or not. They will defend themselves from smaller predators, but when faced with a larger monster they will typically retreat.

Tracks
Urkaku is capable of leaving behind multiple tracks that hunters can use in tracking them. The tracks that can be found include "Two Toed Print", "Shed Feathers" and "Cracked Nuts".

Specific Locale Interactions
Urkaku doesn't have any locale specific interactions.

Special Behaviors
Urkaku doesn't have any special behaviors.

Cutscenes
WIP

Abilities
Urkaku has powerful legs it uses to kick threats and to move with great speed, the talons located on its legs are capable of gutting most monsters in a single blow. The hammer-like beak is capable of smashing boulders and can inflict concussions with its heavy blows. They are also able to shake off loose quills as a form of defense.

Rage and Tired States

 * Rage State: When enraged, Urkaku's legs muscles will swell and glow a faint red in color. When encountered in this state Urkaku is capable of sending hunters flying with its extremely powerful kicks.
 * Tired State: When exhausted, Urkaku becomes slower while performing certain attacks.

Frenzy, Apex, Hyper and Tempered
WIP

Mounts
Urkaku can be mounted. When mounted Urkaku will attempt to flail around in an attempt to get the hunter off its back.

Taxonomy
Urkaku are large bird wyverns, and unlike many of its other relatives they have many more typical bird-like traits. Currently it is unknown which other bird wyverns are the closest relatives.
 * Kingdom: Animalia
 * Phylum: Chordata
 * Clade: Ornithurae
 * Order: Casuariiformes
 * Suborder: Paleoavipoda
 * Family: Urkakuridae
 * Subfamily: Kakuka
 * Genus: Urkaku
 * Species: U. apteryx

Habitat Range
Urkaku are known to inhabit temperate and arctic areas of the new world. They can be seen frequently in areas such as the Hoarfrost Reach, Glacial Pinnacle, Elysian Falls, Coral Highlands and Guiding Lands.

Ecological Niche
Urkaku are herbivores that primarily feed upon fruits, seeds and nuts, and due to this they play an important role in seed dispersal for many plant species. They are known to feed on various plants such as redpit and scatternut to name a few. With their large size and powerful attacks they are capable of fending off most would be predators, despite this however they still face the risk of predation from larger and more powerful monsters such as Glavenus, Brumagoth, Kuroshen, Shipex, Ryatroxos and the many Elder Dragons that roam the new world.

Biological Adaptations
Urkaku are capable of running at great speeds thanks to their highly muscular legs, these legs also aid in jumping and can be used to defend the bird wyvern with its fearsome talons. The feathery coat that Urkaku possess allows it to withstand the biting cold of the snowy habitats it inhabits. The powerful beak of the Urkaku allows it to effortlessly crack through the hard shells of nuts and seeds that its prefers to consume.

Behavior
Urkaku are reclusive monsters, preferring to hide away within their forested territories. These bird wyverns are normally solitary, but they are known to gather in groups during the breeding seasons. Urkaku males are smaller than females and are often bullied by them, after a female has laid a single large egg she will leave to find another mate, forcing her previous partner to provide all the care to the offspring.

Trivia

 * Urkaku draws a lot of inspiration from ratite birds.