Mata Nui Fishing Bird

The Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. Fishing Bird was a small bird-class RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. native to the island of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. during the period of MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. settlement there. It lived in the lower branches of the Le-WahiLe-WahiLe-Wahi is a region on the island of Mata Nui, inhabited by the Le-Matoran and Rahi. Formerly subject to the power of Teridax, the region is no longer under that influence. jungle and fed by diving into the coastal waters along the island's shores to catch prey.

Description#

The Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. Fishing Bird was a small avian RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. adapted to the coastal margins of the Le-WahiLe-WahiLe-Wahi is a region on the island of Mata Nui, inhabited by the Le-Matoran and Rahi. Formerly subject to the power of Teridax, the region is no longer under that influence. jungle on Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years.. It nested in the lower branches of the jungle canopy, close enough to the shoreline to hunt the surf and shallow waters with short diving flights. Its primary prey were small marine creatures within reach of a shallow plunge.

The species was also noted for a distinctive behaviour with no clear hunting purpose. It would dive directly toward the jaws of a larger predator and break away at the last moment, apparently for its own sake rather than as part of any feeding strategy. The behaviour appeared frequently enough across the species to be considered characteristic rather than incidental.

Range and Ecological Role#

The Fishing Bird inhabited only the lower-altitude jungle and shoreline regions of Le-WahiLe-WahiLe-Wahi is a region on the island of Mata Nui, inhabited by the Le-Matoran and Rahi. Formerly subject to the power of Teridax, the region is no longer under that influence., the domain associated with LewaLewaToa of Air, member of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva, whose career was marked by repeated possession, body theft, and aerial campaigns from Le-Wahi to Karda Nui.. It did not range into the high canopy occupied by larger flying RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. such as the GukkoGukkoA large, swift bird-like Rahi domesticated by the Le-Matoran as the mount of the Gukko Force, the second-largest Matoran military unit on Mata Nui., nor into the interior regions favoured by the Nui-RamaNui-RamaLarge insect-like Rahi with deadly claws and venom, known for kidnapping Matoran and attacking Le-Koro.. The Fishing Bird's niche was the boundary between jungle and sea.

As a small predator of marine prey, it occupied a position low on the food chain. It coexisted alongside other small RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. of the same region, including the InfernavikaInfernavikaTiny avian Rahi that thrived in scorching heat where predators couldn't follow. and the PokawiPokawiPokawi is a living entity that existed in four known color varieties: green, lime, red, and black., and contributed to the broader ecological order maintained on the island during the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. settlement period.

Field Guide Entries#

The species was indexed in BIONICLE: EncyclopediaBIONICLE Reference BooksSix Scholastic and AMEET reference titles published between 2003 and 2009 form the primary printed canon for the Matoran Universe. This page catalogs what each book contains and where the editions diverge. and its later revision, BIONICLE: Encyclopedia UpdatedBIONICLE Reference BooksSix Scholastic and AMEET reference titles published between 2003 and 2009 form the primary printed canon for the Matoran Universe. This page catalogs what each book contains and where the editions diverge.. It also appeared in the appendix of BIONICLE: Rahi BeastsBIONICLE Reference BooksSix Scholastic and AMEET reference titles published between 2003 and 2009 form the primary printed canon for the Matoran Universe. This page catalogs what each book contains and where the editions diverge., the in-universe RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. field guide attributed to Rahaga NorikNorikToa of Fire and leader of the Toa Hagah, who broke with the Brotherhood of Makuta to recover the Avohkii and led his team through a thousand years of mutation as a Rahaga before being restored.. The appendix collected smaller-class species not given full entries in the main body of the guide.

The Fishing Bird was grouped in that appendix with other minor RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years., among them the BrakasBrakasBrakas is a Rahi whose members appear in black, brown, and orange coloration and remain extant., Cave FishCave FishObscure aquatic Rahi with minimal story presence, documented mostly in BIONICLE creature reference materials., DikapiDikapiDikapi were flightless desert birds native to Po-Wahi whose great stamina made them favored mounts for Po-Matoran scouts and messengers., HapakaHapakaA dog-like Rahi domesticated by the Po-Matoran to guard Mahi and Husi flocks on Mata Nui, valued for loyalty and pack discipline., HusiHusiHusi is a Rahi bearing orange and red coloring and a beak., PokawiPokawiPokawi is a living entity that existed in four known color varieties: green, lime, red, and black., and TakuTakuTaku were small bird-like Rahi native to Mata Nui and Metru Nui, capable of diving to great depths to catch fish along the coastal waters.. Together these species formed the background ecological catalogue of the island, none of them notable as individuals but collectively essential to the recorded biodiversity of the region.

No named individual of the species was ever recorded. The Fishing Bird remains a species-level entry in the RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. registry of the Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. era.