The Quwish (plural form "Quwish" as well) is a peculiar looking creature. It looks as though a deity jokingly put a cat and a weird looking bird together. This animal is just a bird with some feline resemblance. It is often domesticated by trainers in Sarvonia once they are imported, though many Quwish do live in the wild. They were named "Quwish" because if you saw one in the wild you would hear the "quququ" of it quaking, and then a swishing sound as the bird flies away. They can be trained to do tricks such as waddle around, slide on their white oval bellies, and fly through hoops. Some people hire Quwish trainers to entertain the sick, since their humorous visage can ease the pain and suffering. They can live anywhere after they are imported, but in the wild they are concentrated in the Drifting Woods of western Nybelmar.

Appearance. The Quwish start out at about a palmspan long and can grow to be as big as 3 palmspans long. As for height, they start out at about half a palmspan and grow to as tall as 2 palmspans. If you see one in the wild they would be on all fours, though if trained they can stand on their hind legs. Their front, webbed feet are slightly smaller than their back cat-like legs. The Quwish are indeed strange looking, their back half resembling a cat, with paws and a long flexible tail, and their front end looks like a bird with orange webbed feet and an orange, dull pointed, beak. Their webbed feet help them when swimming to thrust back more water thus pushing them forward faster. They also have wings with extra layers of muscle to propel them through the air quickly and gracefully.

The Quwish's body is covered in black and white feathers. Around the eyes and beak are white feathers and on the belly there are white ovals spotted all over. Feathers on the belly, around the eyes, and around the beak are white fluffy feathers. The rest are black feathers made more for flying. These feathers also are resistant to water. At the tail the feathers gradually get smaller and more fluffy the closer to the tips they are. On the head are 2 tufts of feathers that look as though they are cat’s ears. The real ears are on the side of the head at the same level with the eyes and ensure fantastic hearing.  

Special Abilities. The Quwish have a few abilities that make them special. They have the ability to fly, and have extra muscle layers in their wings to allow them to fly fast and easily. They are obedient enough to be taught tricks such as slide around on their bellies, waddle around, and fly through hoops. When flying through hoops, the trainer sets up different coloured hoops in various positions around the room. The Quwish know which hoop to fly through because of the colour. Another difference between most birds and the Quwish are their webbed feet making them great swimmers. Lastly, their hearing is excellent, much like a cat’s.

Territory. The Quwish are native to the Drifting Woods in western Nybelmar, though many are exported to Sarvonia. Entertainers are the main buyers of these animals, and many times these people overpay. Some healers might even recommend seeing a Quwish as a thing to make them laugh and be happy.

Habitat/Behaviour. During the day in the wild the Quwish will often be by themselves, hunting for spiders and other bugs or if in summer looking for a mate and in large groups of 10-20 at night. They group together at night to hopefully scare off predators. Most predators won’t attack the Quwish at night when they group because there are too many beaks and claws going to hurt them. Their main predators are challachoy but they usually hear the mosschildren scream and fly away. The Quwish are hard to catch, but once caught can bring the person good money. Exporting is common with the Quwish.

Diet. The Quwish eat all the small insects that you would find in the Drifting Woods, though their favourite is spiders. If you have a Quwish as a pet be sure you have a forest nearby so they can forage themselves or have some bugs for them to eat.

Mating. The Quwish populate quite quickly. When a female mates she produces about 7 fertilized eggs. Then the males leave, leaving the female behind. The eggs take about a week to hatch. The female usually leaves for 5 days and then comes back and waits for the eggs to hatch. The shells are very hard so almost always all live to hatch even though their mother isn’t there to protect them. As soon as they hatch the mother will go off to find some food for these hungry babies. The babies eyes won’t develop for a few days so the mother has to feed them. Once their eyes develop their wings begin to strengthen. Within another week these Quwish will be ready to fend for themselves. Though their mother may leave them the kids will usually stay together for a few days and then separate. About 5 of the 7 babies will live to mating age, one and half years.

Usages. The Quwish are often trained to do tricks and are also kept as pets. The Black Butterfly Rovers usually buy at least one and if no one has ever seen a Quwish before they may think that the Rovers performed dark magic on the creature. That and the fact that rovers mark their Quwish in such a way that it looks different than a Quwish. This makes it so that even people who have seen Quwish before think the Rovers preform magic. An example of marking is painting some of the feathers a different colour, things like that can drastically change the appearance of the Quwish.

29th Frozen Rivers 1667 a.S. Information provided by Ganinon