Because they call the sky their domain, birds and bats are closest to the Heavens and enjoy some favor from Manwë and Varda (the King and Queen of the Valar). Indeed, the Great Eagles are considered the most noble of all the Kelvar. They serve the Valar as messengers, scouts, and warriors.
There are over 10,000 species of Endorian avians. Ranging in size from tiny Dwarf Hummingbirds that weigh no more than a gram to Great Eagles who are capable of carrying a large rider and all his equipment, they fill a distinct niche in virtually every ecosystem. Their bright colors, remarkable songs, and stunning aerial skills generate pleasure, wonder, awe, and envy among Eru's Children.
Warm-blooded vertebrates with extremely active metabolisms and four limbs, birds are the only animals with feathers. Their forward limbs are modified to form wings, enabling most birds to fly. Their tail feathers provide added flight surfaces and are attached to the "false tail" in their rump.
Bats are also warm-blooded avians who are capable of sustained flight (as opposed to gliding). Unlike birds, though, they are mammals whose wings are membranes that are supported on the four elongated fingers of each forelimb and are attached to their ankles and/or tail. N OT E:As a whale, the bats and birds of Middle-earth are larger, smarter, and more magical than more commonplace avians.
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