The mysterious kestrel-beast
Sep. 13th, 2012 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexxkayLast night, I saw a kestrel in a dream. Neither the bird kind, nor the one I'm married to. You know how "raptor" is a word both for some types of bird, and also for some types of dinosaurs. Similarly, the word "kestrel" (in my dream) could apply either to birds, or to a not-quite-extinct non-flying beastie.
The kestrel-beast's body is similar to that of a tiger, though longer and leaner. Sort of the proportions of a ferret, but scaled up to tiger-size. It is a sort of tan/brown color. Its head is its most unusual feature, and masses almost as much as the rest of the body. It is tall, broad, and roughly heart-shaped. It reminds me of the old Looney Tunes monster with the heart-shaped body. The eyes are located near the top bumps of the head, and are fairly small. The kestrel-beast can rear up on its hind legs briefly, and see for a *long* way.
In the center of the head is its maw. I use that word instead of 'mouth' to try and emphasize its oddness. It doesn't have upper and lower jaws, but rather a round hole lined with teeth, something along the lines of a moray eel. Only six teeth, but quite big. 3 on top, one to either side, and a huge single tooth at the bottom. When the maw is fully closed, that tooth takes up about half the total area.
The kestrel-beast hunts in a manner similar to a trapdoor spider. It digs a shallow burrow to curl up in, then lays its head flat on the top to form a new 'ground' surface. When unsuspecting prey wanders by, chomp! Smaller prey is swallowed whole. Large prey usually gets immobilized by those teeth, while the body whips around and claws it to death (excepting the rare case of trying to chomp on something tough enough to fight back successfully).
Given its unusual shape, and its deadliness, it seems likely to me that it comes from Australia.
I have no idea why I dreamed of such a thing, but it came through in vivid detail, and I thought those details were interesting enough to share.
The kestrel-beast's body is similar to that of a tiger, though longer and leaner. Sort of the proportions of a ferret, but scaled up to tiger-size. It is a sort of tan/brown color. Its head is its most unusual feature, and masses almost as much as the rest of the body. It is tall, broad, and roughly heart-shaped. It reminds me of the old Looney Tunes monster with the heart-shaped body. The eyes are located near the top bumps of the head, and are fairly small. The kestrel-beast can rear up on its hind legs briefly, and see for a *long* way.
In the center of the head is its maw. I use that word instead of 'mouth' to try and emphasize its oddness. It doesn't have upper and lower jaws, but rather a round hole lined with teeth, something along the lines of a moray eel. Only six teeth, but quite big. 3 on top, one to either side, and a huge single tooth at the bottom. When the maw is fully closed, that tooth takes up about half the total area.
The kestrel-beast hunts in a manner similar to a trapdoor spider. It digs a shallow burrow to curl up in, then lays its head flat on the top to form a new 'ground' surface. When unsuspecting prey wanders by, chomp! Smaller prey is swallowed whole. Large prey usually gets immobilized by those teeth, while the body whips around and claws it to death (excepting the rare case of trying to chomp on something tough enough to fight back successfully).
Given its unusual shape, and its deadliness, it seems likely to me that it comes from Australia.
I have no idea why I dreamed of such a thing, but it came through in vivid detail, and I thought those details were interesting enough to share.