The Noctupervagus, Noctupervagus pinguis, is a large, flightless, nocturnal novaeratite from the jungles of Skull Island. It measures 5-6 feet high at the hip.
The nocturnal Noctupervagus is a sharp-eyed forager amid the leaf litter of the jungle floor. With a powerful kick and saw-toothed beak, the bird is quite capable of defending itself from smaller predators and more than a match for the venomous centipedes, such as Megapede horridus, that it feeds on exclusively. Despite its size, the bird is able to delicately hold and dismember the centipedes with its foot and beak, removing the venomous mouthparts with a surgeon’s dexterity.
To hide them from harm, Noctupervagus eggs are dark and covered in a rich membranous coating, ideal for the growth of small spores and mosses. Shortly after being laid, the eggs become covered in small plants and fungi, camouflaging them from predators like Dinocanisaurus while their mother feeds in the jungle nearby. The tradeoff for the protection is that the fungus and plant growth can cause difficulty for the young trying to hatch. Parental assistance is essential to a successful hatching.