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Bird Pets are a Crimson Desert pet category introduced in Patch 1.04.00 on April 23, 2026. Birds are tamed differently than dogs and cats. Instead of approaching and feeding by hand, the player places a feeder item called the Sotdae of Bond on the ground and waits for wild birds to land and eat. Once a bird's trust reaches the registration threshold, the standard Take In prompt registers it as a permanent companion. Birds slot into the auto-loot loop alongside dogs and cats, and several community reports note that birds are particularly efficient at retrieving dropped items from awkward terrain that ground pets cannot reach.
Quick Information
Property | Value |
|---|---|
Pet category | Bird |
Patch added | |
Taming tool | Sotdae of Bond (placeable feeder) |
How to obtain the feeder | Quest reward from Authorized Access in Pororin |
Where to find birds | Throughout Pywel, along regional flight paths; small songbirds near towns, larger raptors over hill and desert terrain |
Counts toward roster cap | Yes; shares the 30-pet Natural Collector cap with dogs and cats |
How Bird Taming Works
Birds do not approach the player directly the way dogs do. The Sotdae of Bond is a placeable feeder; once it is dropped on the ground and stocked with a suitable food, nearby wild birds notice the feed, glide down, land on the dish, and start eating. Each successful feed raises the target bird's trust toward the player. Trust accrues only from feedings, since the player is not petting or carrying the bird the way a dog or cat owner does.
Once the bird's trust hits the registration threshold, the standard Take In prompt appears on direct interaction. Walking up slowly (a jog or slow walk, not a sprint, since sprinting spooks birds off) and holding the prompt adds the bird to the pet roster. From there the bird behaves like any other registered companion: it can be summoned from the pet tab, it auto-loots dropped items during combat, and it can equip pet accessories from the pet inventory.
Acquiring the Sotdae of Bond
The Sotdae of Bond is awarded by the side quest Authorized Access, which is triggered the first time the player approaches Pororin Village through the Trembling Woods. Players who completed the quest before Patch 1.04.00 shipped are granted the feeder retroactively; the item is waiting in inventory on the next login. If the feeder is ever lost, it can be recovered from the inventory directly so a fresh pickup is not necessary.
Food Types and Bird Categories
Birds split into two broad food categories based on species. Stocking the Sotdae of Bond with the wrong food either attracts nothing or attracts the wrong species; matching food to target is the first lever of efficient bird farming.
Category | Examples | Preferred Food | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Small birds | Pigeons, sparrows, geese, crows, parrots | Bugs, vegetables, grains. Apple from grocers or fruit trees near Hernand is the cheap starter food. | Barley is a strong stockpile option for grain-fed small birds. |
Predator birds | Eagles, hawks, owls, falcons | Meat Slab or Lean Meat from butcher stalls and livestock farms. | Lean Meat is the top trust-per-feed option for predator birds. |
Step by Step
Pick a target. Identify the bird species you want and confirm whether it is a small bird or a predator.
Choose terrain. Place the Sotdae of Bond on high ground where it sits along a known flight path; cliff tops, hill ridges, rooftops, and exposed ledges all work better than canyon floors or village courtyards.
Stock the feeder. Drop the appropriate food onto the Sotdae for the species you want. The feeder accepts mixed food, so a stocked feeder near a flight path can attract whichever species arrives first.
Wait. Birds land within a few minutes of real time on a well-placed feeder. Owls are the exception; they only feed during the deep pre-dawn window.
Take In. When trust hits the registration threshold, walk up slowly and interact with the bird to register it.
Why Birds Are Strong Looters
Players running pet companions for the auto-loot loop frequently report that birds outperform dogs and cats for retrieval, especially across cluttered terrain. The most-cited reasons:
Vertical mobility. Birds reach loot dropped on ledges, cliffsides, and rooftops that a ground pet cannot pathfind to.
Speed. Predator birds in particular cross the battlefield quickly, which matters when a fight scatters loot across a large area.
Awkward-terrain coverage. Drops that fall into shallow water, narrow gaps, or onto sloped surfaces are easier for a bird to pluck up than for a dog to sniff out.
Combat-window discipline. Some players report that birds resume retrieving the moment a fight ends, while ground pets occasionally idle for a second or two before re-engaging the loot loop.
Recommended Spots
Region | Species | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Howling Hill cliffs | Hawks, crows, geese | The clearest all-rounder spot near Hernand. Cliff-top placement for hawks and crows; shift toward the water for geese. |
Hernand countryside | Parrots | Use small-bird food and place the feeder on elevated ground along outer roads, not inside city walls. Barley works as a fallback. |
North of Demeniss | Crows | A dedicated crow farm; place the feeder on the fast-travel pad and stock with mixed food. |
Five-Finger Mountain area | Eagles, hawks, owls, pigeons, falcons | A broad mix for collectors willing to manage the cold weather. Stock with both small-bird food and predator meat to cover multiple species at once. |
Bugs as Bird Food
Many small birds eat bugs as well as grains and fruit. Bugs can be collected efficiently using the Kuku Insect Gatherer's Pack, which sweeps an area for bugs at the press of a button. A single pack run produces enough bugs to stock several Sotdae placements, which is the most time-efficient feeder loadout for small-bird runs.
Legendary Birds
Two legendary bird pets sit outside the standard food-and-feeder loop and require unique trigger conditions. Both were added in Patch 1.05.00.
Iron Eagle at Hawkstone Ruins south of Delesyia. Triggered by interacting with a cogwheel statue at in-game dawn and fed Mercury ore through the Sotdae of Bond.
Hyacinth Macaw at Giant's Yard Outpost in the Redtree Forest. Fed Desert Melons through the Sotdae of Bond placed on the camp cliffs.
Phoenix, a glowing legendary bird, is not tamed through the feeder loop. It is taken down with explosive arrows and charged shots during the Sighting of the Phoenix chain, then revived as a permanent companion via a witch-crafted Abyss summon item.
There is a known ordering issue: taming the Iron Eagle before the Hyacinth Macaw can prevent the Macaw from spawning. Players who want both should tame the Macaw first.
Pet Equipment for Birds
Pororin Petal Hat: the only headgear in the game that changes pet perching behavior. With the hat equipped, small flying companions such as crows, sparrows, and pigeons land directly on the hat instead of perching on the player's shoulder or hand. The effect is cosmetic but it sits the bird in your field of view. Larger flying companions like the Phoenix do not respect the hat.
Sigil of Valor: a dog combat accessory, not a bird accessory. Bird companions do not use the Sigil of Valor; their value is the auto-loot loop rather than combat aggression.
Tips
Place the feeder on high ground. Birds notice it from much further out, and many species refuse to descend into low courtyards or canyon floors.
Scout the sky first. Watching a target zone for one or two minutes to confirm an active flight path almost always saves time on placement.
Owls only feed pre-dawn. Camp near a stocked Sotdae and sleep forward to the small hours; outside that window, owls skip even a perfect spot.
Approach claimed birds at a walk. Sprinting up to a bird at the Take In threshold can spook it off; a slow jog or walk preserves the registration prompt.
Mix food on the same feeder. A stocked Sotdae with bugs, fish, lean meat, and barley covers most species likely to arrive, so a single placement is not wasted if the target species is slow to land.
Re-summon after fast travel. Pets occasionally desync after a fast travel transition; re-summoning the bird from the pet tab restores the auto-loot loop immediately.
Patch History
Patch | Change |
|---|---|
Introduced birds as a pet category. Added the Sotdae of Bond placeable feeder, awarded by the Authorized Access side quest in Pororin Village. Birds count toward the standard pet roster cap. | |
Added two legendary bird pets: Iron Eagle at Hawkstone Ruins and Hyacinth Macaw at Giant's Yard Outpost. |
Related
Pets: top-level pets overview.
Pet Taming Guide: full taming flow for every pet category.
Authorized Access: side quest that awards the Sotdae of Bond.
Companion Trust: underlying trust mechanic shared with horses and other followers.
Iron Eagle, Hyacinth Macaw, and Phoenix: legendary bird companions outside the standard loop.
Legendary Animals: broader index of legendary creatures including the Patch 1.05 bird additions.
Pororin Petal Hat: bird-perching headgear interaction.