Stirge



A stirge is a winged, blood-sucking creature resembling a giant mosquito.

Biology
A stirge's body is about the size of a small rat: about six inches long, with a wingspan of about eighteen inches. It weighs less than a pound. It has a set of four, leathery, bat-like wings. It has a long, sharp proboscis, a short tail, barbed legs, and a row of short, curly hairs along the spine. Stirge coloration ranges from rust-red to bruise-purple, with the eyes being a metallic orange, yellow, or green.

Ecology
The stirge needs blood to survive. It finds victims, and then desperately latches onto them with its legs and pincers before finding a weak spot and driving its deadly proboscis in. It sucks out the blood, causing a long, painful death. If the victim dies before the stirge's hunger is quenched, it detaches and finds a new victim. Though they grip onto their victims very excruciatingly, a good blow to one can detach it.

Stirges typically organize into colonies of two to four creatures, flocks of five to eight, or "storms" of up to fourteen creatures.

Reputation
Stirges are thought to be relentless blood-sucking monsters. As such, they are often used as political metaphors.