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"It's a huge bounty, Mon Capitaine."

―Silas to Gutt about Manny, Sid, Diego and Granny.^[src]

Silas Character information Species Blue-footed booby Gender Male Other names Fur/Scale/Skin color Grey, with blue feet Eyes Black Friends Gutt (captain) Shira (former) Flynn Squint Raz Dobson Gupta Fate Quote Four passengers, ripe for the taking! Appearance information Feature films Ice Age: Continental Drift Shorts Scrat's Continental Crack-up Part 2 Books Video games Ice Age: Continental Drift (video game) Voice Alain Chabat

[Source]

Silas was a blue-footed booby that was a loyal member of the seafaring ape Gutt's crew of piratical animals.

Biography

A somewhat snobbish seabird from the south of France, Silas was a faithful member of Gutt’s crew, serving aboard the ape’s iceberg-turned-ship as a scout, after Gutt had rescued Silas from danger in the past. Silas patrolled the oceans in search of potential new crew mates or further additions to Gutt’s growing bounty.

Scouting

" It's a huge bounty, Mon Capitaine: four passengers ripe for the taking: One very smelly and one very plump."

―Silas to Gutt on his findings^[src]

Silas flew over the oceans one day, scouting for signs of life when he spotted a single chunk of ice adrift at sea, on which were a group of animals: a mammoth, two ground sloths and a saber-tooth cat. The group of castaway animals called out to Silas, deciding that where there were birds, land must be close. Silas, however, paid them no mind and instead flew back to the ship.

Upon reaching the ship, Silas perched himself on Gutt’s shoulder and informed the ape captain of his findings, stating that he had found a “huge bounty”, describing the mammoth as “very plump” and one of the sloths as “very smelly”, this news pleasing the captain.

New Crew

Silas returned to the ship and watched with the other crew members as the ice floe that the castaways were on was brought closer to the ship. Gutt presented himself to the castaways, announcing that the waters they were in were infested with pirates, and that they were lucky to be found by Gutt and his crew. Manny, the mammoth and leader of the castaways, intended to reason with Gutt, but Gutt would not hear of it, instead ordering his crew into battle, forcibly taking the castaways onto the ship and tied up.

Afterward, the pirate crew had a small party aboard to celebrate, in which Flynn, an elephant seal and part of the crew, had lost his "booty", or spoils as Squint, a pirate rabbit, had taken them. Flynn waddled backwards, looking for it, shaking his rear in Silas' face, to the seabird's disgust. Gutt stepped in and introduced himself to the castaways, offering them the chance to join his crew: Gutt then asked the crew to join him in a shanty, explaining his motives: all the animals on Gutt's crew were once "lost souls" that Gutt had saved and had since joined his crew. Gutt then extended the same invite to the four mammals, which Manny turned down.

This decline led to Gutt's order to force the castaways to walk the plank, ordering the two sloths, Sid and Granny, to walk first, Silas and the crew watching. The saber-tooth, Diego, and Manny, however, worked out how to break free of the vines that bound them: Gutt saw this and leapt into action, dueling Manny with his bone-sword as Silas and the crew all watched. During the fight, however, the tree trunk that Manny was tied to came crashing down, splitting the ice deck in two, forcing the crew to take action as the ship was split in half. As it was, Silas took to the air and joined the rest of the crew as they headed towards land, all but Shira, Gutt's saber-tooth first mate, who had been missing in action during the ship's destruction.

Personality and Traits

A haughty blue-footed booby from the south of France, Silas was Gutt's trusted scout and spent much time perched on the captain's shoulder. Silas thought of himself as a tough bird, a demeanor at odds with his awkward walk and pastel blue feet.

Sporting battered grey feathers, along with a long horned beak and vivid blue feet, Silas took to the skies well and was capable of dive-bombing attacks on Gutt's opponents. Atop Silas' head, bright red feathers with white dots grew, resembling a pirate's bandana.

Appearances

• Scrat's Continental Crack-up Part 2(First appearance)
• Ice Age: Continental Drift

Behind the Scenes

Silas was voiced by French actor Alain Chabat.

Silas has been identified as a blue-footed booby on the official website for Ice Age: Continental Drift, though Peter DeSève, who designed the characters, designates Silas as “a salty petrel”.^[1] Silas was designed with traits of both a blue-footed booby and a petrel, having the elongated neck and blue feet of a blue-footed booby and the horned beak of a petrel.

References