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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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[[Image:T5EHarpy.jpg|right|200px|thumb|A '''Harpy''' in action.{{Fn|1a}}]]
:''“Scores of winged creatures are approaching the Hive complex. The larger ones are dropping organic missiles that burst on impact, and they seem to screech as they swoop down. The sound is becoming louder and louder. The screaming, Emperor preserve us, the screaming!”''::–Vox recording recovered from Hive Cresson on Castobel.{{Fn|3}} A '''Harpy''' is a large winged species of [[Tyranid]] comparable to a winged [[Trygon]]. They appear at the initial stages of Tryanid Tyranid attacks working together with the similarly winged [[Gargoyles]].{{Fn|1a}}
A Harpy has a long and sinuous body with massive leathery wings and a broad, armoured head. To better harness thermal currents, its body is hollow, resulting in it being relatively fragile compared to Tyranid creatures of similar size. However it has superior agility in their air than even technological fighter-crafts can manage. The Harpies undersides are covered in bloated cysts that can rain down [[Spore Mine]]s onto luckless prey. It can also emit an ear-splitting shriek that is excruciatingly painful or even fatal, and at the very least causes disorientation. It may also be given [[twin-linked]] [[Stranglethorn Cannon]]s or [[Heavy Venom Cannon]]s, equipped according to the tactical needs of the [[Hive Fleet]].{{Fn|1b}} Opportunistic by nature, Harpies avoid protracted assaults, preferring instead strafing runs and swooping dives, or engaging enemy skimmers ill-suited to fighting back.{{Fn|1a}}
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The Harpy, like many avian and other airborne fauna catalogued by Codiciers throughout the Imperium, is hollow-bodied and thus unable to survive injuries that might not even faze other Tyranid creatures of similar size. The Harpy, however, more than compensates for its lack of resilience with remarkable agility and manoeuvrability in the air. Reliable Imperial witnesses, including trusted members of the Aquilan Pluracy on the Tyranid-besieged planet of Castobel, have observed these creatures turning, climbing, and diving with far greater deftness and precision than even the most sophisticated fighter-craft of the Imperium.{{Fn|3}}
Harpies typically appear in the early phases of a Tyranid invasion alongside Gargoyles and other flying organisms of the Tyranid host. Perhaps owing to their lightly armoured frames, Harpies favour strafing, hit-andrun and run attacks, rather than sustained assaults. Large cysts on the underside of the Harpy’s abdomen produce clusters of spore mines, which the Harpy drops on its foes to deadly effect. The Harpy’s arms boast a number of bio-weapons, such as Scything Talons and often a Stranglethorn or Heavy Venom Cannon. Survivors of attacks by Hive Fleet Jormungandr reported other bio-variants as well, though these accounts remain unconfirmed.{{Fn|3}}
In addition to this formidable arsenal, the Harpy can also stun and, in some cases, injure its opponents with the high-pitched shriek that gives this creature its name. Though Harpies generally eschew close combat unless the odds are stacked heavily in their favour, their scything talons make them terrifying opponents when they do engage in melee, particularly when their enemies are suffering from the disorienting effects of the Harpies’ sonic attacks.{{Fn|3}}
