World: Any
Diet: Flesh
Length: 24’5″
Lifespan: 50 years
Habitat: Wetlands or any other area with plentiful standing freshwater
Activity Cycle: Diurnal
Keenly scouring the skies for prey, buzzkull are predatory dragons most often seen around the steaming swamps of a pyrosaurolophus, the perfect habitat for their aquatic larvae. Combining aerial agility, incredible eyesight, and bloodthirsty instinct, these creatures easily establish themselves as some of the deadliest creatures on the wing in nearly any environment. Naturally incredible hunters, only interested in fresh-killed meat, buzzkull care most about pushing themselves to the limit and taking on the greatest possible prey.
Capable of hovering in one place for several minutes at a time, buzzkull will pick out areas with vast sightlines. Their massive eyes, wrapping all the way around their heads, can see in all directions except for directly below. Prey is both captured and consumed on the wing, yanked off the ground in the dragon’s powerful talons. The talons alone perforate organs and even break bones, killing smaller prey outright. Anything too large to be pulled into the air is instead harassed with claws, smashing blows from the dragon’s armored tail, and sprays of their acidic breath weapon until it falls.
The true lifespan of a buzzkull is unknown, as few will ever reach it. Over their lifespan, buzzkull become more and more specialized in a single favored prey species, usually a particularly rare or difficult catch. Eventually, they will refuse to eat anything but their preferred prey, and despite the respect this gains from their comrades, these dragons will swiftly starve or be killed in the hunt.
