View source for Hellmouth (entity)/IF-43.749

{{Rumor Header|term=Species}}

'''Yagsnipes''' (''Gallinago Hellinago'') are a heavily [[Adaptation|Adapted]] species of [[bird]], descended from the [http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/Profiles/CommonSnipe.htm Wilson's snipe]. Like the Wilson's and common snipes, the yagsnipe is a wading bird with a highly sensitive, probing beak for sensing prey in mud (or salt). Unlike mundane snipes, yagsnipes survive in the biologically challenging salt-slurry pools of the [[Potash Ponds Mesa]], where an entire ecosystem of Adapted algae, invertebrates, fish, and micro-hellbeasts have established themselves.

Yagsnipes appear to have a supernatural sense for finding submerged or buried prey. Their sensitive beaks have adapted to detect vibrations with a set tempo, including heartbeats or other metabolic processes with a steady rhythm. They are often characterised by [[ornithologists]] as of a "belligerent" disposition, as they seem to get distracted by particularly "loud" noises and will stab persistently with their beaks to make the offending organ or machine stop. [[Potash minnows]] with their hearts stabbed out and left discarded are a common sign in the Ponds for this very reason, and the predation pressure of yagsnipes has forced many Potash Pond animals to make their metabolisms more arrhythmic.

Yagsnipes exhibit natural variation in the range of tempos they detect and respond to, with about one percent of the population more attuned to longer rhythms on the span of hours rather than seconds or minutes. Individuals that take umbrage at even longer rhythms, like the passage of day and night, are often removed from the wild by Hellmouthian ecologists due to their poor survival chances in the wild, and kept and studied in special aviaries. 

Yagsnipes are not normally migratory, but healthy individuals will attempt to do so when population density grows too high. Their chances of survival beyond the Mesa are poor, as they will either attack a much larger animal with a heartbeat or beat themselves to death against a piece of machinery. To prevent these birds from being killed by pumas or starving due to a mangled beak, annual culls are organised by the Hellmouth community. Roast yagsnipe is a cherished seasonal delicacy in Hellmouth, which prospective foodies are strongly reminded to not come to try.