Chapter 81: Channels Of Communication

''Given the variation across the breadth of dragon biology, it is ultimately self-defeating to speak in anything more than the broadest of generalities on the topic of draconic senses, as there are specific types and breeds and even individuals with exceptional versions of each of the main senses. However, broad trends can still be observed. ''

Dragons tend to have high visual acuity, especially for low-light environments: the majority of dragons are trichromats, but one genetic line possesses a mutation that grants them tetrachromacy, and another line being bichromatic but with exceptional low-light vision (highly prevalent among Boulder-class dragons).

''Hearing nearly universally manifests in a wider range than that of humans: the common range reaches down to 15 cycles per second and up to 22,000 cycles per second, with some lines having greater or lesser limits, the lowest limit ever documented being 3 cps. The majority but not totality of draconic communication conveniently happens in the same vocal range as available to humans, but dragons use the lower-frequency ranges for long-distance communications. While only simple information can be communicated using this method, historically it was used for navigation to and from nests and over long distances.''

Smell is significantly more acute in comparison with humans, with some lines having acuity on par with canine bloodhounds, but all dragons are highly sensitive to scents…

—An Introduction To Dragon Biology, 17th Edition, Oxford University Press, 1793

Foreshadowing
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Epigraph Tie-In

 * The epigraph mentions that dragons use lower-frequency ranges for navigation to and from nests. The chapter shows Toothless, Stormfly, Mistletoe and Meatlug hearing a nest-call and locating a nest on the Isle of Crete.

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