Birds

Birds are a category of native avian fauna found on Tau Ceti IV, encompassing multiple species including the vulture-like skrac and smaller flocking species. These creatures form part of the planet's natural ecosystem, which survived the Pfhor assault and subsequent centuries of environmental upheaval. Unlike the aggressively hostile Ticks, Birds are primarily non-confrontational: they are highly alert to nearby movement and will take flight and flee quickly when a runner approaches. Their skittish behavior makes them difficult to engage, but not impossible to hunt down for those willing to invest the effort.

Engaging Birds in Marathon is entirely optional and secondary to most mission objectives, but runners who successfully take them down can collect loot drops. The challenge lies in their speed and awareness: Birds detect nearby runners and take flight before a clear shot can be lined up, requiring patience, good positioning, and fast reflexes. They pose no direct combat threat and will not attack runners. Despite being relatively rare targets worth pursuing, Birds serve primarily as a lore element that reinforces the living ecosystem of Tau Ceti IV and provide a secondary loot avenue for runners willing to divert attention away from the main UESC threat.