Trial of Ink - Day 8 - Seductive

Flame-Tail Ground Harpy

Harpyiacursa Flammeus

A species of flightless harpy native to Baramus Prairie. They are the fastest creature on land. Like most harpy, they live in a flock led by an alpha female. The female flame-tail has rather dull red plumage, but their male has a bright iridescent red and orange plumage with a long extravagant tail. But just like other species of harpies, their male is less in number, smaller, and much weaker. Male flame-tails can’t hunt effectively and need to rely on the females to hunt for them. That’s why as soon as a male reaches a certain age, he needs to find a flock of females and impress them to let him join the flock. Those females will take care of the males and protect them from predators and other flocks.

Initially, I was going to the classic enchanters like a siren, mermaid, or something similar. But then during the sketching process, I thought, this prompt 'seductive' doesn't have to mean seducing human, it could be a mating ritual, and the champion of mating rituals in my mind is Birds.

So I try to search for several references and find Harpy. THEN, a question popped up in my head, why they're mostly depicted with the female figure, why male harpy are rarely written in stories and myth. Forgotten realms stated that they just all have a female-like figure regardless of their sex. But that seems boring, so I create a new concept, what if the reason why only the females appear in myth is that the male doesn't hunt. Then what if they're actually there just for reproductive purpose. What if they need females to survive, so being fabulous and skillful in dance and flirt is their way of survival. What if they're similar to Lion, but the female dominate the flock instead of the male. These concepts also born from the classic 'Harpy sisters' tropes.

(All JPEG and PSD are going to be sent to you by the end of the month)

Link to the prompt list:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/2020th-trial-of-41772325