Gallimore
The gallimore (Messenian taxonomic name Megalornis glaisnei) is a giant bird species, native to southern Serania Major and found primarily in the central plains regions of that region, presently divided between the territorial interests of Savam and Odann. Although individual longicol specimens have been larger and heavier, the gallimore is the largest living avian species on average, outstripped in size only by two known extinct birds, and the Megalornis genus is collectively known as the “thunderbirds” from their size.
Typical male gallimores average 2.7 metres (8 ft 10 ins) in height, with some specimens having reached as much as three metres (10 ft); weight is on the order of half a ton (500 kilogrammes). An ungainly specimen, its wings have atrophied to the extent that it is not capable of flight; however, it can achieve running speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, although its endurance is fairly low and it can sustain these speeds only in short bursts.
Unlike the ducks and geese to which it is distantly related, the gallimore is omnivorous; while it primarily feeds on larger plants, using its immense beak to shear through thick, tough stalks, it is not averse to taking small game as an ambush predator where circumstances allow. While not an apex predator in the true sense of that term – as are the terror birds of northern Serania – the gallimore is large enough to avoid serious predation by other species.
The name gallimore is an Ellish corruption of the original Dael name gé ollmhór, literally “giant goose”, given to the species by early explorers in Odannach Serania, after a perceived partial resemblance to the geese of the Old World. The familial link has since been confirmed by ornithologists, with the gallimore being classified with ducks and geese under Anseriformes. The taxonomic name Megalornis glaisnei, “Ó Glaisne’s giant bird”, honours the explorer Tadhg Ó Glaisne and his wife and collaborator Fionnuala uí Ghlaisne, who conducted some of the earliest Odannach surveys of the southern Seranian deep interior, and who were the first to study the species in significant detail.