Green Rider

Green Rider

Habitat: Midway; Upland Plateau
Type: Flightless Bird of Prey
Height: 3 to 5 Feet
Weight: 40 to 75 Pounds

The Green Rider is a flightless, predatory bird that lives on the plateau grasslands on Midway Island. It is the only member of its family that does not live on Mainland. Like the other members of the Rider family, it has design details that are unusual among living birds. 

The first of these is teeth. Rider teeth are serrated, razor-sharp, and work well for slicing and cutting. The second is clawed wings. Riders possess three well-defined fingers and claws on each wing. The wings are broad and strong, but the riders remain flightless. The third is a long bony tail. The bones in the tail are much longer than other birds, nearly as long as the rest of the body, and are covered in shorter feathers.

Rider males are vibrant green, mixed with red, orange, and yellow. The females are typically smaller, and dull green. These intelligent birds live in flocks of up to eight adults, only one of which is an adult male. While the flock is away from the nest area, one or two adult females will stay behind to protect and care for the hatchlings.

The Green Rider is the dominant predator on the Upland Plateau. Its flocks work together like a wolf pack or a pride of lions to hunt prey. Like all riders, the Green Rider targets large prey such as Giant Warthogs and Running Tapir. Leaping onto their prey's back, the rider drives its retractable, hook-shaped toe claws deep into the hide and flesh of the animal. This claw anchors the rider onto its victim. The bird then uses its wings and long tail to balance on its perch while delivering powerful bites with its serrated teeth.

One example of the Green Rider's intelligence is its protection and growth of grass patches on the open plateau. As the rider flock patrols their territory, they will keep herbivores from grazing over certain areas. This causes the grass in those areas to grow quickly, and it is soon long enough for the riders to hide in. These hiding places give the rider an enormous hunting advantage in the flat, tree-less plains.

• Naturalist Note: The identity of the rider family was at first unclear to scientists, who were trying to identify it from Daniel's writing and illustrations alone. But once Daniel provided samples - the tail fan and skull of a Spotted Rider - it became clear that these were actually dromaeosaurids. 
  
  The specific identity of the Green Rider, though, may not actually be a dromaeosaur (commonly called "raptors"). Its slender build, superior intelligence, and smaller sickle claws may actually identify it as a closely related troodontid. It appears that the Green Rider may in fact be Troodon itself, or a close relative.
  
  Daniel’s description of the riders' "retractable" claws likely reflects a common misinterpretation; as in dromaeosaurs, the inner claw was probably held elevated but clearly visible. The posture of the Green Rider (more upright, wings tucked in tightly, upper legs seemingly anchored inside the body like a bird) was unknown to paleontologists until now. These features further support interpreting the rider group as true birds, rather than more basal theropods.