The Eblis are a white-plumed avian race that have features similar to storks and are thought to descend from a lesser branch of Aearee that inhabited wetland environments. This branch of the Aearee shared features with wading birds such as herons, ibises, cranes, flamingos and pelicans. This race may have been particularly well-adapted to the swampy and aquatic habitats where the Batrachi dwelled, and the ancestors of the Eblis are thought to have been favored slaves of the thearchs, the priest-ruler caste of the Batrachi.
The slender Eblis are not particularly strong or suited to physical labor, but do display a wicked cunning that may have served them well in the capacity of temple slaves, scribes, administrators and even as informants for the Batrachi.
Eblis are rare these days. Communities of Eblis were known to exist in Mulhorand where they were dedicated to the service of Thoth. Lone Eblis were sometimes encountered in Mulhorand cities, living on their wits as scam-artists and thieves. A common ploy used by these individuals was to trick adherents of thoth into believing the Eblis was actually an avatar of their god, a con that was often successful in a land where gods walked among their worshipers as living incarnations.
Eblis still survive in out-of-the-way marshlands around Faerûn, where they tend to congregate in small communities of 2-8 mated pairs.
Eblis are noted for banditry, and often ambush travelers that pass along the roads that border Eblis territory. Eblis are known to be cunning, even cruel hunters and will attack anyone they believe to carry jewelry, gems or shiny treasure. They are fond of weaving such ornaments into their nests and the walls of their dwellings.
Eblis are often led by powerful spellcasters of particularly evil bent. Sages suspect that Eblis sorcerers derive their magic from pacts with the demonlord Pazriel or other such fiends. Eblis are not by nature evil, but those communities with spellcaster leaders are particularly prone to wickedness due to the influence of fiendish patrons.
Sages believe that the planar race known as Diakka (1e Monster Manual II p.50, Planes of Conflict ) are cousins of the Eblis that were corrupted ages ago by Pazriel and now make their home among the darker dominions.
Some sages contend the Eblis are related to the gigantic avians known as boobries (1e Monster Manual II p.20, and 2e Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix MC11) however other scholars contend that the boobrie is simply an ordinary bird species and unrelated to the Eblis or the Aearee.