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Gaining its name from the bold pattern of an alien bird's feathers painted on the ship's ventral hull,
the Romulan Bird-of-Prey was the successor of a 22nd century counterpart of similar design.

The Federation Starfleet first encountered this vessel in 2266, when a single ship of this type
crossed the Romulan Neutral Zone and attacked several border outposts, destroying them utterly.
The USS Enterprise responded to the alert and engaged in a tense game of cat-and-mouse with the intruder
for more than ten hours, before the Bird-of-Prey was destroyed.

The Romulans later used larger numbers to patrol their border with the Federation in force.
Typically during an incursion, one Bird-of-Prey will bring a starship out of warp with a plasma torpedo
to allow the ships in its battle group to attack the target en masse.
When the Enterprise violated the Neutral Zone on the orders of Commodore Stocker in 2267,
it was ambushed by a squadron of ten Birds-of-Prey.

After the Romulan-Klingon Alliance of 2268,
the Bird-of-Prey was largely supplanted by the more massive and more versatile Klingon D7-class battle cruiser,
although some were used in concert with the D7s.

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