Book of Dragons

Whispering Death

Spine Shot

Whispering Deaths are able to shoot their spines just like a Deadly Nadder, which grows on the head and along the length of his body. According to Fishlegs, they can shoot spines from any part of their body.

Tunneling

When the teeth move, they make an eerie noise that sounds like whispering. Hearing "The Whisper", together with the ground rumbling, are often the only two warning signs that a Whispering Death is coming from underground tunnels if it is not near the surface, throwing earth and rock. Toothless could detect the presence of one from Hiccup's bedroom, which is above ground level.

Endurance and Stamina

Whispering Deaths have high defense, being a Boulder Class dragon. They can take many attacks from their enemies as demonstrated quite profoundly by Toothless' Nemesis, who was able to fight against Toothless, and even survive getting slammed by two very large boulders in the face. Toothless Nemesis also withstood a Thunderdrum's sonic roar leading Gobber to remark that it doesn't seem to have 'its listening ears on'. However it is shown by one of the Whispering Death hatchlings that the Thunderdrum's sonic blast can only affect them in close range.

Senses and Immunity

Despite their poor eyesight, Whispering Deaths have acute hearing and smell as Toothless' Nemesis had heard a sheep in its tunnels before hearing Fishlegs' voice. It is also shown by the Screaming Death's Siblings that they can navigate in the dark with little light.

Apparently, it has immunity to the effects of conventional dragon nip. When Hiccup tried to use a dragon nip to stop an attacking Whispering Death, sniffing it just made the dragon sneeze.

Intelligence

Whispering Deaths are shown to have great intelligence as the babies were able to work together as a team to to pick up the Screaming Death, and Toothless' Nemesis was able to understand that Toothless was unable to fly.

Whispering Deaths are said to have a great memory, fact proven by Toothless' Nemesis, who remembered the grudge with the Night Fury for years and came back to finish it. Groundsplitter also recognized Hiccup as the one who helped her reunite with her son.

Hunting and Fishing

Whispering Deaths are shown to hunt from underground. It is quite possible they use tunnels to trap their prey so they can hunt much easier. It is also implied that the Whispering Death can swim, as the hatchling Whispering Deaths were shown to bring fish to their wounded Screaming Death sibling.

Stealth

Whispering Deaths are able to ambush their victims from the ground without being noticed.

Jaw Dislocation

Some Whispering Death individuals, such as Viperswish, are able to dislocate their jaws, enabling them to swallow larger victims completely whole.

WeaknessesLight Sensitivity

Being essentially underground cave dwellers, Whispering Deaths are sensitive to bright light and can be deterred by it. They can tolerate overcast conditions however, as long as the sun is not out or hidden behind cloud cover. Individuals with better vision, such as Wrylite, tend to be even more sensitive to bright light than typical members of the species. It is shown in "The Iron Gronckle" that, as babies, Whispering Deaths can be driven off by light from torches, but they seem to grow out of it by "Tunnel Vision".

Bite Limitations

Although Whispering Deaths can efficiently chew through rock and most other material, they are unable to break through metal plating, specifically cast iron.

Poor Eyesight

According to the School of Dragons Website, Whispering Deaths have poor eyesight. This might be connected to the lack of a visible pupil, or living in a dark environment.

Behavior and Personality

Whispering Deaths are extremely dangerous, like most other dragons, and are able to chew their victims after their ingestion, using their six rows of rotating teeth. They usually live in underground tunnels they burrow themselves, using a burrowing attack against oncoming enemy/prey.

The Dragon Manual once said that they were extremely dangerous and must be killed on the spot. Nevertheless, despite their fearsome reputation, they want their teeth to be brushed. In "What Flies Beneath", Fishlegs noticed that a Whispering Death's eyes were sensitive against direct sunlight, which is why it spends most of its time underground.

When Whispering Deaths find intruders in their tunnels, they will forcibly eject them from the nearest pit. This was done to Bucket, but later, when he did the same to Hiccup, he also tried to kill him, pursuing him even above the ground; this may be because although Bucket had simply fallen in, Hiccup was caught running along its tunnel system. Perhaps the dragon believed he was deeply invading his territory or he smelled Toothless' scent on Hiccup thinking they are allies.

Whispering Deaths are known to be more dangerous in their infant stages, in contrast to their adult forms. They say that they have less control over their rotating teeth and spines, and are described to be "out of control saw blades". Young Whispering Deaths are known to be extremely territorial of their homeland, "claiming it as their own".

Though most varieties of Whispering Deaths spend most or part of their time underground, Rushing Deaths spend a considerable amount of time above ground in well-shaded woods. They hunt fish by opening their maws downstream and wait for fish to swim in their mouths.

Training

Whispering Deaths are almost untrainable. They are very destructive and aggressive in nature, attacking anything in their way and are generally feared by other dragons and humans in general. The only way to train a Whispering Death would be to capture it and take your time until you eventually gain its trust (as shown with Alvin and his Whispering Death) or by raising one as a hatchling (as shown with Hiccup and his Whispering Death). You can earn a Whispering Death's respect if you help reunite it with a family member or save its life (as shown with Hiccup and Groundsplitter). Whispering Deaths love to be brushed, especially their teeth.