The painted spat was a subtype of carrion spat, an avian creature native to the Corellian system. A mutated variant, this creature was larger, stronger and more resistant to average carrion spat. Somewhat similar in appearance to the carrion spats of Corellia, the painted spat differed: The coloration of the skin was much darker with pronounced horizontal stripes along the back; the bony structure protruding from the mandible was not, from appearance, a true beak (the jaw did not resemble a beak at all, rather, resembling a reptilian jaw).
The existence of the painted spat was first reported on Talus during the Galactic Civil War. In 1 ABY, adventurous spacers traveled to Talus in order to hunt painted spats. At least three of these animals were seen roughly 3,500 meters from Nashal Starport. Their large 'beaks' were sometimes used as trophies.
Painted spats were later spotted on Corellia as well. After the Battle of Yavin, the painted spat Gravefeather and its pack of enraged carrion spats attacked farms on the outskirts of Coronet City, such as Pol Handerin's farm.
Painted spats appeared in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, prior to the game's closure on December 15, 2011. Painted spats were added to the game with the "Publish 18," released on June 15, 2005.