Bootie bird (SciiFii)

The bootie bird (Corvardea niger), also known as the predator crow, is a species of corvid that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the alpine and tundra environments across Eurasia and North America to help boost biodiversity. The closest living relative to the bootie bird is the carrion crow (Corvus corone). The bootie bird is one of the largest flying birds of the Northern Hemisphere tundra and is the tallest corvid on Earth, standing over 1 meter (3.3 feet) high on average. The bootie bird, so called because of the shaggy feathers it grows to protect its legs in winter, is one of the lemming's principal avian predator. The bootie bird has a long neck and bill and long legs, and in this respect looks rather like a heron. Indeed, in summer it even behaves similarly to a heron, wading into shallow pools and streams to dip for fish. In the winter it develops insulating feathers along its legs to protect them from the cold and becomes a land predator, hunting any smaller animals that are active at the time. It probes for the lemmings through the snow and, with its long beak, is able to penetrate deep inside their fortress. The conservation status of the bootie bird is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the bootie bird's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.