Kupurero

Kupurero, also known as Kupurero songbirds, are an endangered species of bird-like Rahi currently endemic to the forests of Powai Nui. They are famous for their song-like vocalizations, which often predict whether the near future will see positive or negative occurrences.

History
Kupurero were created by an unknown Makuta and originally populated every island in the Matoran Universe. However, they proved to be incapable of defending themselves against many airborne predatory Rahi, and their large population began to deplete.

Along with this, many found their songs to be irritating and claimed that they occasionally lowered the morale of those who were exposed to them for too long. Some groups were even formed with the sole purpose of eradicating them from certain islands, most notoriously the group that managed to kill every single specimen living on the Southern Continent.

The only island they remained on was Powai Nui, thanks to the island's low amount of airborne predators. Here, the Kupurero flourished, finding themselves to actually become important to the island's food chain. Laws were set in place by Turaga Maroona, making it illegal to kill or harm a Kupurero due to their endangerment.

Kupurero become popular on the island, and it's inhabitants seemed to react much more positively to their songs than on other islands. Several pieces of literature, including books, sagas and poetry, were inspired by or included the Kupurero, and they quickly became iconic.

Much later, it was found that Kupurero could live well in captivity and even be domesticated. Although Maroona repeatedly recommended against keeping them, some Matoran still kept them as domestic pets.

Physiology
Kupurero are small creatures, usually averaging the size of a Toa's closed fist. They have scarce feathers to protect them from cold and rain, most of which are on their breast and wings. They come in varied shades of green, with gray or white underbellies. Their beaks are short, sleek and sharpened for pecking into tree bark, and their tongues have been found to be long, prehensile and coarse, which is assumed to be for snatching insects out of holes in trees.

Diet
Kupurero are insectivores, feeding exclusively on insects which burrow under the bark of trees. When they are not singing or sleeping, they often peck at trees for food. They are capable of detecting and pinpointing the direct of vibrations caused by insects crawling in trees with their beak. As such, hungry Kupurero may fight while trying to find food, as the pecking of one disrupts all others' abilities to find food if they are on the same tree.

Abilities and Vocalizations
Kupurero are most well-known for their vocalizations. These vocalizations are often very elaborate, akin to large chirping choirs, with up to a hundred Kupurero joining together to sing together. They all come with the innate ability to memorize potentially thousands of individual songs, all depending on the situation they foresee.

What makes these songs more remarkable is their application with the special ability which Kupurero have. Kupurero all have the ability to predict the future with incredible accuracy, however as they cannot speak the only way they have to proclaim of significant events is through singing. They are very capable of using the tone, jauntiness, pitch, tempo and key of their songs to make their vocalizations match the ratio of positive and beneficial occurrences to negative and detrimental ones in the near future.

Interaction with Matoran
Kupurero songs are used by Powai Nui's Matoran population as legitimate means of determining future events, even going so far as to take them into consideration for large events. This has spawned the phrase "Did you check with the Kupureros," which refers to the process of making sure that absolutely everything will go as planned.

As mentioned before, Kupurero can also be kept as pets, and can be trained and domesticated to act tame around Matoran. However, the process of getting them to cope with Matoran interaction can be grueling, and requires lots of patience from both the owner and anyone who interacts with the Kupurero.

Trivia

 * Kupurero comes from the Maori word for "Ghost". The word is also used for "Oracle", referring to people in classical antiquity who were wise and could provide prophetic predictions for the future.