MLP- The Griffons

So I've had several people ask me whether I was gonna draw Gilda and/or the griffons. Welp. Here ya go; both in the same package. This was actually drawn a little while ago while I waited for another project to render, but I kinda forgot to upload it up until now, thanks to the recent episode of MLP. Ehehe.... sorry. >_>'

So yeah. Let's just get on with the headcanon on these suckers, shall we? ;D

----

The Griffon is a part of the Gryph family, which is a sapient species consisting of mammalian bird/animal hybrid-like creatures. Those included in this genus is the Griffon, the Hippogriff, the Canaegriff, and the Nymph. The Griffon is the most common of this genus.

Appearance:
The Griffon is a medium-sided creature, typically reaching the heights of 5ft at the shoulder for both sexes. These creatues are powerful and sleek, a given due to their predatory nature. They typically appear to be a mix between a sort of bird and big cat, with the bodies of the lion, tiger, and cheetah and the torsos of the eagle, raven, and falcon being the most common to appear. Their heads to the their torso is covered in feathers (with feathering along the shoulders and back), while the rest of the body is that of a large cat.

Hippogriffs are very similar to the Griffon in all except its hind-half being that of an equine instead of a big cat. This is due to the fact that Hippogriffs are results of a griffon/equine pairing. The Hippogriff is fertile and they are able to reproduce. Just like all Gryphs, Hippogriffs do not gain cutie marks.

Canaegriffs a rare subspecies of griffon that has their hind-half similar to that of a canine instead of large cat. They are uncommon and as such not many is seen, although it is believed there is a larger population of them hiding somewhere in the world.

The Nymph (not shown here) is a tiny griffon about as large as a field mouse that is a part of the "Fae" type, similarly to the Breezies. Nymphs are about as rare as the Breezies as well, and as such they are marked endangered.
All types of griffons actually have teeth and tailfeathers (how the tailfeathers are situated can depend on species of Gryph).

Diet:
The Griffon, just like many other sapient races, are omnivorous, although in general they are primarily meateaters. Their diet consists primarily of fish, deer, rabbit, cabbages, radishes, and a variety of fruits. In the country of Gryphonia, the most culturally relevant item of their diets is the fish and honey. The fish is important because of all of the meat available to the griffons, seafood (especially salmon and catfish) that the country is most dependent on. As such, the griffon culture often puts emphasis on the fish and even sees some species of fish as spiritually important and sacred, such as the merlin (swordfish), the great white shark, and the koi. Next to birds, many of the spirits griffons worship is modeled after sharks (for the hunt), merlin (knowledge and bravery), and koi (peace and tranquility).

Honey is also a very important and cultural food item to the griffons, to the point where it's almost as important, if not more so, than the fish. Gryphonia actually once went into a short war with the country DownUnder over the access to honey (it wasn't necessarily a war so much as it was a huge political spat with each nation threatening to send soldiers. The conflict was quickly resolved however). Honey is such an important and integral part of Griffon culture that it's even sometimes used as currency, both in Gryphonia as well as for trading with other nations (Gryphonia is known for having the best tasting honey in the world). Honey and the use of honey is a part of all of their ceremonies, including holidays, mourning, and celebrations.

Breeding:
While sexuality and identification isn't that big a deal to griffons, whether or not your mate is griffon usually is (at least, it more likely is if the griffon grew up in Gryphonia. More than half of the  population of griffon in Equestria is born into Equestrian culture through generations and, as such, often don't share Gryphonian views). There are steps being taken to increase acceptance of this in a slow but steady process however. The only exception to this is usually the Hippogriff, if only because they look more griffon than they do equine. While certainly capable of showing and giving love, marriage in Gryphonia is often seen as a contract of sorts; a pair who fancy one another enough will often sit down to talk about the terms of the marriage, such as how many cubs the pair will have, how long the marriage will last, how a home and belongings will be split in case the contract is broken or if the contract expires, so on and so forth. Typically, the unwritten rule of contracts is that, unless stated specifically in the contract, either griffon having another lover is strictly forbidden. Cheating against your mate immediately terminates the contract and most of the material belongings, specifically the home (if the pair bought/rented one together after the contract was made), will be given to the one the griffon cheated on, as well as a fee to compensate for the unfaithful griffon's infidelity (the fee more than doubles if cubs are involved).

Griffons are monotreme (mammals that lay eggs) however they are unique in that, while they typically lay eggs, a griffoness has the ability to give live birth if their genetic makeup is either lacking in a specific code or if there is a genetic oddity that allows a griffoness to switch between laying eggs or given live birth (this genetic oddity is very rare however). Regardless of whether or not they lay eggs or give birth, a griffoness typically has a litter or brood of two or three cubs (hatchling is also a correct form of referring to griffon children). The hatchling is born featherless but with a slight peach-fuzz, but other than that they're typically bald for the first couple of days after birth/hatching. They are completely dependent of their parents and harmless, however they do grow about as fast as an equine foal does in terms of development.

Behavior:
Griffons, just like just about all sapient species of Gaia, is very spread out all around the world. That said, they originated from their home country, Gryphonia. The culture of Gryphonia is often likened to that of a warrior/tribe-like nation due to how the occupants act, however Gryphonia actually does have a government of their own instead of being spread out in several different tribes. The government of Gryphonia is that of a Monarchy that is similar in many ways to the Equestrian Oligarchy in terms of how it's branches are situated. In contrast to Equestria, however, the king or queen of Gryphonia takes a far more active role in the governing and a large majority of any decision is made by the current ruler.

The current king of Griffonia is Daros alongside his King Consort Olsan (he is a griffon/sphinx hybrid). Under his firm but fair rule, Gryphonia has been prosperous and currently has a healthy aliance with Equestria.

------

And there ya go! I'd put more but I have to leave soon so this will do for now. As always, if you have any questions feel more than free to ask! :3