Tragopan
Also called Goteface.
Tragopan is a marvel-bird of classical natural history, first described by Pliny the Elder as a horned, purple-headed bird of Ethiopia larger than an eagle, known almost entirely through description rather than any recorded conduct.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Roman mythology
- Region
- Africa (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Child-Frighteners
- Symbols
- Bird
Near this figure
and 2 more
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Bird is image-domain The bird denotes the soul and its flight between worlds, carrying aspiration, prophecy and divine essence, and moving freely where the earthbound cannot follow.
why
Tragopan is a marvel-bird of classical natural history, first described by Pliny the Elder as a horned, purple-headed bird of Ethiopia larger than an eagle, known almost entirely through description rather than any recorded conduct.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Hybrid of multiple animals
why
a purple or reddish head and a pair of curved, ram-like horns projecting from it
Behaviour
- Shy elusive avoids humans
why
There is very little beyond that description to report, and the record should be treated accordingly: the classical sources state chiefly that the bird was never successfully taken alive, framing it as a marvel that could be described but not captured, which is close to the entirety of its attested behavior.
Emblems
- Heraldic badge beast
why
Medieval and early modern writers inherited the description largely unchanged, and it passed from natural-history compilation into decorative and heraldic use, where English sources render one variant of its name as 'Goteface.' There is very little beyond that description to report, and the record should be treated accordingly: the classical sources state chiefly that the bird was never successfully taken alive, framing it as a marvel that could be described but not captured, which is close to the entirety of its attested behavior.