 This bird is an enormous relative of the Earth's golden eagle. There are two types of tarns on Gor, war tarns and racing tarns, some with wingspans as wide as 50'. War tarns are heavier but agile, trained to aid in battle. Racing tarns are slender, lighter birds bred for speed and endurance. Racing tarns are also used by messengers to go from one city-state to another. Tarns are extremely intelligent, but very difficult to train because of their aggressive behavior.
Tarns vary in their coloring and markings. They range from completely black to light brown, and some even white. Tarns have long sharp beaks and talons large enough to carry a small sleen, or a cub larl. The kept tarns should never be hungry or thirsty. A tarnsman should free the bird to allow it to feed, the bird then finds its prey, traps it, then dismantles the victim while it is still alive and breathing. Tarns are birds of prey. They live in a variety of habitats, from open country to open forests, though usually not found in dense forests. Tarns are large and strong birds, some can travel as fast as eighty pasangs per ehn, and carry two basketfuls of slave girls, approximately four slaves per basket. They are capable of tremendous short term bursts of speed. When flying through woodlands, they display perfect control of movement, weaving in and out among tree trunks by effectively using their long body, and tail. The wild tarns of Treve are the largest and most aggressive in all of Gor. While Tarns do not breed in the city of Treve, they are occasionally seen wintering in Treve. This is due to a seasonal dispersal brought on by food shortages in their home. The wild tarns are efficient predators and prey upon large and medium-sized animals and humans.
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