Muttonbird

Muttonbirds are a type of dark-feathered seabird which are found in great quantity amongst the Islands of the Southwestern Threshold, and in lesser concentrations across the Western oceans as far north as the Coral Archipelago.

Muttonbirds feed on fish and squid, able to dive underwater after prey but preferring to feed near the surface. They nest and breed on rocky islands, digging shallow nests and padding them with grass and seaweed.

Muttonbirds get their name from their culinary traits. Their flesh is incredibly fatty, dark red with a flavour and texture much like lamb (in chicks) or mutton with a hint of seafood taste. They provide the main source of non-fish protein for many island cultures of the West, and are well suited to being preserved both in salt and in their own fat for long sea voyages.

Forgotten in the current Age, muttonbirds were a project of the Solar Deliberative in the early First Age to provide sources of red meat to the populations of the West, a project which also created the Flowering Sea Cow.