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Brutornis
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Name:
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Brutornis
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Abilities and Weapons:
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Powerful Beak, Legs, Claws
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Occupation:
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Pursuit apex predator
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Home:
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Skull Island
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First Appearance:
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"King Kong Extended Edition" (from 2005)
"The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island" (from 2005) |
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Diet:
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Carnivore
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Size:
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Height: 3.5 meters
Weight: 500 kilograms |
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Status:
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Rescued from extinction during the 1938 expedition on Skull Island.
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The Brutornis ("heavy bird") is a tall, heavy, pale-colored phorusrhacid from the lowland plains of Skull Island. It measures 6-7 feet tall to the hip and is 11.4 feet tall total and - true to its scientific name of heavy bird - half a ton in weight making it the largest and tallest bird in the world and the biggest carnivorous avian alive.
Facts[]
The largest of Skull Island’s flightless avian carnivores and the apex predator of the lowland plains, Brutornis is an impressive predator that runs down prey in the open scrublands. With keen sight, the phorusrhacid can detect small movements in the grasses that betray small prey hidden below. The huge, adze-like bill is driven by powerful muscles and exerts a bite terrible enough to kill most prey with a single chomp.
Brutornis nest on the edges of the grassy areas, where their eggs remain concealed but the open ground permits the parent a view of potential threats. Mothers show intense vigilance in protecting their eggs, going without food for up to a month during incubation to remain at the nest. Chicks have camouflaged plumage for hiding and follow their mother when she hunts, until old enough to fend for themselves.
Cunning Lycaesaurus have developed tactics to lure Brutornis mothers off their valuable eggs. Conspicuously approaching the nest to catch the bird’s eye, one Lycaesaurus will act as a decoy, luring the protective mother off her clutch while the other raids the unattended nest. A valuable protein source, the melon-sized eggs are worth the risk of teasing such a dangerous larger predator. The decoy individual has to judge its lead carefully: if it goes too far the Brutornis might abandon pursuit to return to her eggs, too close and the ploy can turn to disaster; the would-be egg thieves becoming dinner for the starving bird. Adlapsusaurus were also threats. Brutornis was rescued from extinction during the 1939 fall exploration of Skull Island.
Appearances[]
A life-sized puppet of Brutornis was actually made and filmed in the original pre-production cut of the 2005 King Kong film. Lumpy killed the bird after the crew heard noise from the grasslands and instinctively fired his gun in the general direction. It was likely that Lumpy unintentionally saved the crew as the bird was most definitely hunting them down. The scene was re-edited in the extended cut of the film.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Like all animals from Skull Island. It is unknown what they faced during the sinking of the island. Given the multiple expeditions, there may be a chance that a few surviving populations was saved off-land to a more stable enclosure.