Carrion birds are hostilebeasts that will attack players that venture too close.
Most carrion birds have a knock-down ability called Swoop that interrupts attacks by characters and requires time for them to get up after being knocked down.
In the Burning Crusade, there is an Outland version of the carrion bird which includes two heads with brightly colored feathers.
Though hunters can respec their pet carrion birds into Cunning or Tenacity, they are inherently Ferocity. In addition to the abilities that come standard with all pets ([Cower], [Growl], [Avoidance]) and those given to their natural or retrained specialization, all carrion birds are given the following:
These pets are useful to hold threat on multiple targets with their special skill, Demoralizing Screech. They are not seen very often as a hunter pet despite their desirable traits, possibly because their large wings can interfere with targeting.
Patch 3.1.0 (14-Apr-2009): Bonuses equalized. Damage had a +10% bonus and now has +5% bonus. Armor had no bonus and now has a +5% bonus.
/Patch 3.0.2 (14-Oct-2008): Major changes. Screech replaced with Demoralizing Screech. Claw ability removed. Armor had a +5% bonus and now has no bonus. Health had no bonus and now has +5%. Damage had no bonus and now has a +10% bonus.