When Shao Xuan arrived, he saw a group of people gathered at the foot of the mountain where they lived. They didn't go up the mountain because it was more spacious. Besides, the birds they brought back still needed to be processed. It was too noisy to bring them up the mountain.
Before Shao Xuan even got close, he could already hear the sounds of birds chirping. The Feather tribe's iconic feathered costumes could be seen from afar.
Many Feather tribesmen held birdcages of various sizes in their hands. They were made of rattan or straw. Different species of birds had different cages, and the shapes of the cages were also different.
This was the first time the Yanjiao people had seen so many different kinds of birdcages.
It was undeniable that the Feather tribesmen cared a lot about appearances. Their cages were even decorated and looked very flashy.
"They're all back?" Shao Xuan asked a warrior who was craning his neck to look inside.
"Yes, team leader Ta and the rest are back. However, they only brought back bird eggs, unlike the Feather tribesmen who brought back adult birds." Shao Xuan nodded, "Yes, team leader Ta and the rest are back. However, they only brought back bird eggs, unlike the Feather tribesmen.
They only brought back eggs? Were they planning to hatch the eggs themselves?
Because they saw Shao Xuan coming over, the people crowded there all made a path for him.
Shao Xuan saw the Feather tribesmen showing off the birds they caught. Some of them were released directly, probably because they had already started taming them. Most of them were just showing off their cages.
The birds the Feather tribe caught all had beautiful feathers. They either had gorgeous tail feathers, strange crests, or special feathers on other parts of their bodies.
As soon as he saw the birds the Feather tribesmen brought back, Shao Xuan was worried that they would recommend flashy but impractical birds to Ta. Although they had said before that they didn't care about appearance, only practicality, no one could be sure until they saw the results.
Without looking at the birds the Feather tribesmen brought back, Shao Xuan went straight to Ta.
Guigou and the others were already there, standing there and listening to Tower.
"The people of the Feather tribe said that the withered leaf birds are active in both day and night, especially at dawn and dusk. They're more active at night than during the day. I think we need to take precautions at night. After all, there aren't many people now, so there's a lot of restrictions at night. If possible, let's try taming these withered leaf birds."
Ta held an animal skin scroll in his hand. Shao Xuan went over to take a look. There was a painting on it. It should have been drawn by the Feather tribesmen. Although the painting was still abstract, the main features of the painting could be seen at a glance.
Seeing Shao Xuan coming over, Ta directly handed over the animal skin scroll in his hand to let Shao Xuan have a good look. After all, Shao Xuan was only one of the main decision makers whether or not these withered leaf bird eggs could be kept.
"Why are they called Withered Leaf Birds?" Shao Xuan asked. This name must have been given by the Feather tribesmen.
"They said that these birds look like a pile of withered leaves, and when they hatch, they bury the eggs in the withered leaves." Ta didn't remember the exact words of the Feather tribesmen, so he only gave a rough description.
Although it wasn't complete, Shao Xuan understood.
Generally speaking, the Feather tribesmen gave the withered leaf birds this name because of the color of their feathers and the way they hatched.
Compared to other birds, withered leaf birds' hatching method was less common. It was more similar to the way reptiles hatch. They would bury their eggs in pre-prepared soil bags. There were withered leaves and branches in the bags. When the leaves were fermented, they would generate heat. The withered leaf birds used the heat from the fermentation to hatch their eggs.
Being able to adapt to this method and having a high hatching rate, at least these birds weren't stupid. This made the Yanjiao people a little satisfied. As long as they weren't stupid, they didn't mind at all if they were ugly.
Shao Xuan looked at the drawing on the animal skin roll. There were a few concentric circles around the bird's eyes. It looked like a radar. "What's that on its head?" It stood up like an antenna.
The withered leaf bird in the drawing had a long, thin feather on its head. It was more than half the length of its body.
"Oh, that's the crest of the withered leaf bird. The Feather tribesmen didn't like this kind of crest, so they didn't raise them again except for a few hundred years ago. However, they said that these birds are very vigilant. When they sense danger, the crest on their heads will stand up. Also, withered leaf birds have many kinds of calls. They make different calls under different circumstances. It's easy to distinguish them, and they're not suitable for long-distance flight. They only move around in one place, so you don't have to worry about them flying away. So the Feather tribesmen suggested that we raise withered leaf birds. I think we can give it a try. "
Ta repeated what the Feather tribesmen said. He wasn't easily fooled by the Feather tribesmen, but he agreed with the Feather tribesmen's reasoning.
"Why don't the Feather tribesmen raise them? Is it really just because they don't look good? "someone asked.
"Not really," Ta continued. "The Feather tribesmen said that withered leaf birds are noisy. It's not that they're noisy, it's just that they tend to quarrel with other birds. So once they start quarreling, the Feather tribesmen will be in a state of chaos."
The Feather tribesmen raised so many birds. Imagine if all of them started chirping …
"We don't have any other birds in our tribe, right? Gui He and Chacha definitely won't quarrel with them. That group of ducks basically won't leave the vicinity of the lake now. If we domesticate withered leaf birds, it should be possible. "
"Yeah, we can give it a try. By the way, how big can withered leaf birds grow?" Shao Xuan asked.
"Not big, just this small." Ta gestured with his hand. It was only about two palms long, smaller than those ducks.
However, he heard that withered leaf birds lived in flocks. Ta brought back forty to fifty eggs. Even if only half of them hatched, it was enough. They could give it a try.
They weren't big, so they couldn't carry people. It was a bit of a pity. However, if withered leaf birds were really like what the Feather tribesmen said, everyone would be satisfied. Hopefully, they could be useful when there weren't many people around.
"I talked to the Feather tribesmen and asked them to leave a few people behind to help us hatch the eggs. After all, they have experience. I heard that even if they bury the eggs, they still have to look after them every day. It's better to leave them to them."
In fact, these eggs were dug out from the mounds that were buried with dead branches and leaves. They didn't all come from the same mound, but from several mounds, five to ten eggs were taken from each mound. If the Feather tribesmen didn't have their own skills to protect the eggs, none of these eggs would have hatched.
"They said that they'll hatch in ten days."
Since the Feather tribesmen needed to look after the eggs hatched, and the Feather tribesmen needed a few days, they stayed here to observe the adaptation of the birds. So they didn't leave for the time being.
After more than forty withered leaf bird eggs hatched, the Feather tribesmen left.
Withered leaf bird chicks were birds that matured early. They could walk and look for food as soon as they hatched, saving a lot of effort. This was one of the reasons why Ta chose them.
A person with rich experience in rearing was chosen from the animal pen to take care of these newly hatched withered leaf birds. Because the breeder was the one who saw them the most after they hatched and also fed them, these fledglings were very dependent on the breeder. Sometimes, they would line up and follow the breeder.
When Shao Xuan arrived, he saw the forty-two grey-brown fluffy birds following the breeder to the food trough. They probably hadn't hatched for long. Although they could walk, they couldn't fly yet.
"Why do they look so tired?" Shao Xuan asked. The chicks' eyes were half open, and they staggered as they walked. They looked like they hadn't woken up yet.
The breeder smiled and explained, "No, they're usually like this. But when they eat, they look more energetic."
Sure enough, as soon as they arrived at the food trough, the chicks, who looked like they hadn't woken up yet, started fighting over the food.
Seeing these chicks grow so energetic from their fragile state, the breeder was very proud. The Feather tribesmen also taught him how to mix the food. Sure enough, these withered leaf birds grew well.
But this breeder didn't get to be proud for more than two days before the chicks abandoned him.
The reason was that the pterosaur threw half a fish into the flock. At first, the breeder was worried that these birds wouldn't get used to it. He didn't expect these birds to be so adaptable. Not only that, but the pterosaur also threw in some small animals. Every time it threw in food, it would lie down and watch.
Later, these chicks became closer to the pterosaur and no longer followed the breeder.
However, when the tribesmen saw that these birds didn't have any problems and were even more active, they didn't care. They even thought that it would be great if these birds could learn some commands from the pterosaur. After all, the Feather tribesmen wouldn't teach them how to tame birds. They had to think of their own ways. Unfortunately, these birds weren't suitable for engraving.
That was why the Yanjiao people thought that it would be better to take it slow. When these birds grew up, they might be able to understand some commands.
However, Shao Xuan felt that the pterosaur had other intentions.
The reason why the pterosaur was so daring was because Shao Xuan didn't have the time to keep an eye on it. The man-made river channel at the Flaming River Trading Point was almost completed. The bridge that needed to be built was also built. Zheng Luo had been discussing with him about the sluice gates.
They would build two sluice gates at the two crossings of the river channel and the Flaming River. The main purpose was to stop dangerous fish and river beasts from entering the river.
The completion of the man-made river channel meant that the river wouldn't be blocked by the Flaming River Bridge anymore. Ships could use the man-made river channel to bypass the stone bridge. However, they had to pass under the watchful eyes of the Yanjiao people. They couldn't avoid Yanjiao's eyes.
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