Thailand, 100 million years hence
The vocal repertoire of gangstars is highly varied, with many different individual sounds that have their own meanings. You could call each of these sounds words, if you wanted. These sounds can even be strung into “sentences” to convey complex meanings. A vocal language of this intricacy had not been seen since humans left the planet, and this ability to communicate detailed commands and information has been crucial to gangstars’ success across Eurasian and Australian jungles.
Ormbait had been given her nickname by the rest of the mob after an incident when she had nearly been eaten by a freshwater ophisuchian. The mob was 10-strong, and was currently hunting a Naishornis. Individual gangstars, including Ormbait, had been swooping in and out of the jungle, corralling the terranseran into denser and denser portions of forest. Little did it know, three gangstars were waiting in a nearby dragonflower tree. When the Naishornis approached the right spot, these three emerged from the thicket, aiming at the neck. Using their hooked beaks and talons, they began removing feathers and inflicting wounds. The rest of the mob arrived and added to the assault. Eventually the prey bird collapsed with a gravelly screech.
The mob boss was Crossbeak. He had taken control of the mob the previous year by defeating the old boss Kingfisher in combat; one of his supporters slit Kingfisher’s throat the next night. During the hunt, he had been darting through the action giving commands to the mob. Now he perched on a high branch above the now-dead Naishornis. The feather crest on the top of his head was raised; this signifies the leader of the mob, and other members have to keep their crests flush with the rest of the head feathers. He let out a metallic clacking call. This was a dominance call - it conveys and emphasizes one’s status. In this context, it was a reminder to the rest of the mob that he got first dibs.
Knowing that Crossbeak would take his sweet time with the carcass, Ormbait called to her mate White-eye, who hopped over to her branch. She took off into the forest, and White-eye followed. The two headed through the jungle, to a small riverbank. Ormbait had found this spot by chance earlier, and knew other birds would be unable to hear them here. The following “conversation” would be impossible to accurately transcribe; approximate translations are provided:
[Crossbeak bad boss,] Ormbait started. [He makes bad decisions. He eats more than Kingfisher. He treats us like prey. Mob suffers now.]
White-eye made an oscillating whistle. He agreed; he also thought that Crossbeak was an overly ambitious and controlling ruler. The mob had lost three members in poorly-planned hunts since Crossbeak came to power. Ormbait continued:
[I have plan. I will overthrow Crossbeak. I will become better boss.]
[Plan is bad. Crossbeak will kill you.]
[I will tell others. They will agree. I think. Gangstars together strong. Together we will defeat Crossbeak.]
White-eye bowed his head and extended his left wing. This gesture indicated support and loyalty. Ormbait had been considering confronting Crossbeak for a while, but given her own status and experience with agonistic interactions, she had hesitated to act on it yet. But now, she would not be acting alone.
