Swamp Drakes

One of the less inspiring breeds of Drake, Swamp Drakes are dumpy lizard-like omnivores with a pair of undersized bat-like wings. They are generally a swampy brown or green in colour, although they may also be black or grey. Adults grow to about half a metre in length. Swamp Drakes are frequently found in the Black Hills on Varys, where their very pragmatic dietary habits allow them to thrive despite the general sparseness of the local ecosystem.

In adults the drake's wings are too small to allow flight, and are used only for display - with the undersides of their wings a bright orange or red to dissuade potential rivals or predators and impress mates. Somewhat confusingly both male and female drakes make displays of this kind, and it is not uncommon for drakes of the same sex to become mistakenly amorous towards one another. Juvenile swamp drakes lack these display patches, but their lighter frame means that their wings are of suffucient size to allow flight - albeit clumsily and over short distances only. This talent is used mostly to allow young drakes to escape their older brethren, or other potential predators such as Blackmaws.