To mark the arrival of Life Day and Thanksgiving, the next featured entry in the Pets of the Old Republic had to be, of course, the most turkey-like of SWTOR’s pets, the Orobird.
Orobirds have a long history in Star Wars: The Old Republic, debuting in the game’s first major update after its launch. The first two Orobirds introduced into Star Wars lore were the Orochick, which could drop as loot from Gargath, a World Boss found on Hoth, and is also now available from the Light Side Token vendor on Fleet, and the Orokeet which hatches from eggs found by players exploring hidden corners of Alderaan, Republic Taris and Imperial Balmorra. The third Orobird pet, the Orosquab, subject of this post, debuted shortly thereafter as a rare reward from the flashpoint Lost Island. The fourth and final Orobird pet, the Crested Orokeet was later added to a vendor in the Cartel Bazaar of both fleets. If you want an Orobirb of your own as a pet, you won’t need to spend a single cartel coin, and if you’re willing to seek them out yourself, three of the four won’t even cost you a single credit.
Players first encountered fully grown Orobirds in the wilds of the planet Rishi during the Shadows of the Empire expansion. In addition four varieties of Orobird mounts can be acquired from the Cartel Market and the GTN for players to roost upon. If you have sufficient reputation with the Underworld Exchange, you can purchase the Fawn Orobird mount for a handful of credits and a pair of Cartel Market Certificates on the Cartel Bazaar deck of the Fleets.
This type of large, flightless bird appears to be very common across fantasy settings from the Axebeak of Dungeons and Dragons and the Chocobo from Final Fantasy, and the reason for that is because they are all based on extinct varieties of creatures colloquially known as “Terror Birds” from the Earth’s distant past. The “Terror” in that name is apt because many could tower over a human and, based on their fossilized remains alone, all must’ve been impressive sights to see! SWTOR‘s Orobirds seem to have been based in particular on species known as the Phorusrhacos and Dromornis.
Phorusrhacos
Although not all Terror Birds are believed to have been meat eaters, I cannot imagine any of them would be safe to encounter outside their enclosure in an out of control dinosaur theme park or by a time traveller stranded millions of years in the past. Indeed their modern descendants should not be trifled with either! The Cassowary of Australia, which seems to be the direct inspiration for the Crested Orokeet is notoriously dangerous to provoke. And even the wild turkeys of North America are prickly and ill tempered. I myself have encountered them both in the dark woods of Vermont and on the mean streets of Boston. I once walked out the front door of my apartment and came upon a half-dozen Turkeys pecking around my front yard. I turned around and went back inside. It was their yard now.
Boston Turkeys
So know that if you adventure in the Star Wars universe with an Orobird at your side, you are protected by one of the fiercest creatures in both a galaxy far, far away and the one significantly closer to home!
Next time: Your plastic pal who’s fun to be with.