Harpies

Hey, u/Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho . Wondered if you'd be interested in discussing other fantasy groups.

​

If so, I have this topic to start off with:

​

I would like to figure out a plausible estimate on how much a harpy could carry for an extended period. The harpies in question are about 20 to 30kg in weight.

​

I've been doing some research, and there is footage of birds lifting more than their weight with relative ease. Examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfmRyIO341A&ab_channel=TwisterAura

https://youtu.be/Yz7FFlFy8eM?t=307

​

The birds are clearly lifting more than their weight in these clips, straight up in the first one. How much is hard to say exactly, but it could be several times their weight.

​

Gliding doesn't take too much energy, birds can do it for many days straight, so I wonder if harpies could carry a pretty heavy load for a long time, if they only had to glide.

​

My current supposition is harpies can carry ~90kg basically all day, so long as its mostly gliding. That's about 3x their weight. But, they are exhausted from it like it was a forced march and need to rest for a couple of days after the fact. I'm figuring they might go at 20 to 30 mph akin to a hang glider. They might travel for 4 to 10 hours that day, depending on conditions, where they can travel for longer if there are thermals to keep them aloft.

​

Have a lot of other details that could be discussed, if you're interested. In this case, weight capacity is important, as it defines a lot of logistics and tactics.