Portrait of a Homi Honeyguide Bird
The Homi, once domesticated and trained are used by the Crannogmen to find bee colonies, Homa truffles, other terrestrial or arboreal swamp treasures and even relay simple messages to the designated Birdkeeper.
The Homi consumes insects and bees' wax, while the Crannogmen consume or sell the wild swamp honey for profit.
In the wild, the Homis are brood parasites which lay eggs in a nest of another species. Nestlings have been known to physically eject their host's chicks from the nest, and they have hooks on their beaks with which they puncture the hosts' eggs or kill the nestlings, by repeated lacerations if not a fatal stab.
In captivity, Homis are reared in The Birdery on crannogs, cared for by the designated Birdkeeper, which is a relatively prestigious position within Crannogmen society.