Seth, thank-you for the kind words and encouragement!  Your suggestions for myth and lore are intriguing.  I'll see what I can come up with.  I agree that it could help to express the way in which they are understood by the simple folk, or to give a new layer to that understanding.  Your chemical warfare idea cracked me up!   I'd love to use it, but it would be tough because they are too toxic to be handled.  Maybe there's a wizard who keeps a flock, handling them magically from a distance?  They'd make a great tear gas bomb!

Ta'lia, please be patient! It will take a while for me to process your suggestions.  How far north does your territory go?

Azhira, I wasn't sure if you were on board with my working on the Dead Wing, so I made a different critter.  If you'd like me to take a shot at it, however, I'd be happy to do so.  I do have a couple of other ideas I'd like to try first, however.

Ta'lia, I was able to move them out of the desert altogether, so I think that problem is solved.  Rayne, I'll take another shot at it with your new suggestions.

You did a lovely job of painting the wee beasties with your words.  You really made me see them!  The myth was very creative, and I loved the poem at the end.

The reason the length is 70-90 nailsbreadths is that it is estimated to be similar in length to an eagle which - according to the bestiary - is 70-90 nailsbreadths in long.

Okay.

I made some changes, which I think address all of the comments which have been made so far.  I went ahead and limited the southern part of its range to the Narfost Plain, and don't think it does any harm to the viability of my bird.  Alyr, I did in fact mean for 1 fore, 1 palmspan to be the length of its neck, so we should be okay there.  I corrected the other sentences to address your concerns, but would appreciate it if you checked to make sure that they were corrected properly.  All changes were highlighted with a different color for each person who made suggestions.

This is an awesome entry.  I admire your ability to convey detailed information while maintaining a nice flow and keeping your readers' interest.  The section on the philosophical basis of witchcraft was particularly interesting.  I liked the way you incorporated both order and chaos, linked together by threads of energy.

Ta'lia, I looked over the Narfost Plain entry more carefully and found that although it is wild and remote enough for this bird, it's not hot enough to show its adaptability to a wide range of climates. I think your idea of making it extinct in the desert is a better one, although we'll need to come up with a reason for it dying out.

Ta'lia, I think the simplest way to solve the problem is to make the southern limit of its range the Narfost Plain, which I will do shortly.
Alyr, I really appreciate your kind words and helpful suggestions.  I'll rework the sentences you highlighted, to clarify them.

Oops, I just noticed that changes were supposed to be a different color, so I made mine yellow.

I didn't come across another scavenger, though.  Are you sure the desert couldn't use another, in addition to the birds you are planning?  These don't take live prey, and so wouldn't conflict with any predators you have in mind.  I wanted part of their range far to the south, a hot climate to show their adaptability, and it has to be a sparsely populated area.

Okay Ta'lia, I'll find them another home.

Based on the feedback I've received so far, I described its smell more vividly (see overview), gave them glowing orange eyes and made the males identical to - but smaller than - the females (see appearance). I also gave the young purple down (see mating behavior), and said that their corpses are consumed by other Stink Birds (see special abilities). What next?

I'm reconsidering the colors - could be a bit much. Maybe glowing orange eyes instead? I'll work on a more vivid description of the smell. That could be fun.

My first thought was that nothing would eat these things, but maybe other Stink Birds?  How about if it was purple and orange with blue eyes, legs and beaks?