Longleg

The Longleg is a category of machine in Horizon Zero Dawn. A Reconnaissance Class machine, the bird-like Longleg is designed to be a scout for other machines, scanning the area for potential threats, such as hunters.

History
This fierce combat machine of unknown origin only appeared in recent years, some time after the Derangement made the other machines more aggressive.

It is likely that the Longleg is a modification of one of GAIA's peaceful terraforming machines, as, while having weapons and capable of fierce combat, it is designed to resemble an organic animal.

Appearance
The Longleg resembles a Phorusrhacid, more commonly known as "terror birds", ancient carnivorous flightless creatures that were apex predators in their time.

The head is mounted on a long, very flexible neck with sensor gear and what looks like three antennae protruding from the casing, similar to those seen on a Sawtooth. A fan-like tail, stubby wings, and slender legs add to the appearance of a bird.

On the Longleg's chest are two devices that produce sonic blasts, and two power cells are attached above the legs. In some ways, the Longleg resembles an enlarged and more combat-capable Watcher.

Abilities
The Longleg is an agile machine that can alert other machines to its location via an alarm. In this regard, it behaves like a more combat-capable Watcher.

When in combat, the Longleg utilizes quick movements, making it very hard to engage once it has been alerted to an enemy's presence. For weapons, the machine uses sonic blasts to disorient and overwhelm humans. This ability inspired Dervahl to create Sonic Devices using Longleg parts.

Like Scrappers and Thunderjaws, Longlegs can scan for threats in tall grass. They do so by emitting a supersonic screech that presumably works the same way as echolocation. Therefore, it is imperative to avoid lingering in tall grass for too long when sneaking around Longlegs.