Khugala

Khugala is a Bird Wyvern appearing in Monster Hunter Venture.

Physiology
Khugala slightly resembles a Velocidrome, although with slightly more muscle mass, gray skin, and a full coat of silvery-white feathers. Instead of a bony crest it has two tufts of black feathers that resemble pointy ears. Its muzzle is slightly beaklike, but resembles the beak of an eagle rather than a heron and has sharp teeth in it. Khugala's arms are covered in long feathers, making them resemble bird wings, and they end in hands with sharp claws. The monster has long and muscular legs lined with black stripes, and each foot has two "killing claws". Khugala also has a long tail which has black rings and a white tip.

Abilities
Khugala is capable of using its sharp claws and teeth to rip at prey and rivals alike, leaving deep wounds. It is also capable of breathing out concentrated blasts of wind as an offensive maneuver, and possesses heightened speed and agility that allows it to bring down threats quickly & efficiently.

Alone
Slashing Claw: Khugala swipes at a nearby enemy with the long claws on its hand.

Tail Strike: Khugala swings its tail at a threat behind it.

Triple Fang: It rapidly bites forward three times. Getting hit by all three bites can cause Bleeding.

Raptor's Pounce: The monster crouches and tenses its body, then pounces forward onto a target. If it hits a hunter, it can lead into pin attack where it bites and kicks the hunter repeatedly, causing Bleeding.

Talon Kick: Khugala kicks forward with one leg, extending the sharp talons on its feet.

Whipping Sweeps: It sweeps its long tail on the ground repeatedly, striking at enemies behind it.

Hunting Combination: Khugala makes a growling sound, then bites forward and chains it into a Slashing Claw.

Leaping Kick: It jumps high into the air and shrieks, then falls back down to earth with one leg outstretched and its talons extended.

Side Snaps: The monster bites quickly, turning its head to both sides of its body.

Double Cutter: It uses its Slashing Claw attack twice in a row.

Enraged Only
Wind Bullets: Khugala spits out three spheres of wind in a manner slightly reminiscent of Rathian's Triple Fireball attack. Each wind bullet can cause Windblight.

Slicing Sirocco: It deeply inhales and then breathes out a large, highly pressurized cyclone that can hit hunters multiple times. The cyclone always causes Windblight, but its winds are so powerful that it can inflict Bleeding if it strikes a hunter multiple times.

Hurricane Kick: It crouches and snarls before launching a spinning kick and breathing out a stream of wind as it spins. This attack causes Windblight and Bleeding.

With Battara
Note: any of the above attacks can be used against the Battara, but these are the attacks that will only be able to work if both Khugala and Battara are present.

Predatory Grapple: The monster leaps onto the back of its rival and latches on with its hooked claws, forcing it to the ground. This attack causes heavy damage to Battara and anything else it hits.

Toppling Spinout: Khugala begins running at top speed and delivers a powerful kick to Battara's side, causing the Scelidian to fall over and spin forward while skidding to a stop. Battara can Stun hunters if it collides with them.

Rider's Assault: It leaps onto Battara's back and begins to ride it like a hunter mounting a monster while attacking with its claws. The Battara panics and charges wildly around the area, dealing damage to anything it hits. This attack can cause Stun if Battara collides with a hunter.

Combined Roar: Both monsters roar at each other loudly, creating a combined roar that requires HG Earplugs to block.

Enraged Only
Desert Duelists: Both Khugala and Battara make a threatening growl at each other before charging at each other. When they collide, they begin to roll around and wrestle with each other as each monster attempts to pin its rival. As they move around the battlefield, they can cause high damage to hunters they collide with.

Raging Sandstorm: Both monsters scream loudly before unleashing their respective breath attacks. In the center, Khugala's Slicing Sirroco and Battara's Dust Devil collide to create a small sandstorm that grows in size for a brief period of time before exploding across the area. The sandstorm lasts for 5 seconds, causes Windblight and Earthblight, and causes continuous but weak damage.

Taxonomy

 * Order: Ornithoscelida
 * Suborder: Bird Feet
 * Superfamily: Quick Claw
 * Family: Khugala

Habitat Range
Khugala lives in arid areas such as the Redrock Canyon and the Blasted Desert.

Ecological Niche
Khugala is a generalist carnivore that attacks small prey. This prey occasionally consists of Piscine Wyverns like Delex and Carapaceons like Hermitaur, but it mainly prefers Scelidians like Apceros, Rhenoplos, and Battara, along with their eggs. Battara in particular is Khugala's preferred prey, as its meat is high in protein and moisture content. Khugala itself is very often preyed upon by larger monsters like Deviljho, Tigrex and its Subspecies, and Rajang. It also must be wary of large herbivores such as Fuming Kubatemolu, Diablos, and Onyx Cerambus, as they are highly territorial and are easily capable of killing or severely wounding a Khugala.

Biological Adaptations
Khugala is well adapted to desert life. Its pale skin and feathers help it stay cool in the hot sun by absorbing less light, and at night its feathers insulate it from the cold winds of the desert. Khugala sports long legs with powerful muscles that allow it to run long distances without tiring and jump from rock faces to ambush its prey. Its body processes water and moisture extremely efficiently, and so it rarely drinks water. Instead, it gets most of its moisture needs from its prey. Khugala's claws are its main weapon, and they allow it to rip through the armor and carapaces of its prey. It also has dexterous fingers for holding and grasping objects. As a final weapon, it is capable of spitting highly pressurized cyclones from its jaws that cut the skin of threats.

Behavior
Khugala is a tenacious pursuit predator, opting to wear its prey down by chasing them to the point of exhaustion rather than launch an ambush. They are known to relentlessly give chase to anything they deem as prey, especially Battara. In Battara's presence Khugala becomes even more aggressive, and it will attempt to kill the Scelidian even at the risk of its own life. However, it will run from Battara if it feels its life is truly in danger. Khugala is a highly intelligent monster that lives a solitary life to avoid competition for prey with other Khugala, but if two of them come into a dispute over a prey item it can very often be fatal.

Trivia

 * Khugala's name comes from "Khulgaich", the Mongolian word for thief.
 * Khugala takes inspiration from the dinosaur Velociraptor, the black-backed jackal, a burglar, and a bird of prey.
 * Its rivalry with Battara comes from the Fighting Dinosaurs fossil, which preserved a Protoceratops and a Velociraptor that were seemingly fighting each other when they died. Their ability to create a sandstorm with their combined powers is a reference to the theory that the two dinosaurs were buried in a sand dune as they were fighting, killing them quickly.