Wallyhawk

The wallyhawk is descended from woodsalcons which were isolated along Irinya as the forests they called home shrank. Unsuited to surviving in such a narrow environment, the Irinya population became extinct, but not before producing a descendant which lived on and re-adapted for a more open environment. Like its close relatives, it is a flying eagle- or hawk-like predator which sees any small creature on the ground and not in flight as potential food. Like its ancestor, it hunts by swooping down and snatching prey with its jaws, which can bypass shorter spikes.

The wallyhawk has a few features which make it slightly different from other ophreys at the time of evolution. Most species have roughly symmetrical jaws which fit together awkwardly and can’t fully close the mouth. The wallyhawk’s jaws, however, are asymmetrical, allowing it to close its mouth tightly and reduce water loss. This also allows it to bite down harder on its prey, increasing the chances of a successful kill. It also has flatter, more foot-like hooves, granting it more stability on the ground. The formerly vestigial nail on its wing toe has become a hooked claw, allowing it to climb up and stand in trees and shrubs. Some of its eyes now point more forwards, aiding in binocular vision.

The wallyhawk’s climbing method looks strange to an observer. Rather than the wing claws pulling it up the tree, it pushes down, the claw on its wing toe hooking into the bark as it appears to “walk” with its legs hugging the tree. On steep slopes it will use its jaws to aid in this, somewhat like a parrot, but if the trunk or branch is more diagonal, it won’t need to. Because the wing feathers obscure the claw from the side, it appears as though it is stepping on nothing and inexplicably sliding up the tree, like a glitchy video game character on bad collision geometry.

Being able to climb in this manner, as opposed to using a form of wing-assisted incline-running like other jewel-eyed saucebacks, allows the wallyhawk to scale a tree noiselessly and while expending less energy, as well as allowing it to climb vertical surfaces. It can also stop wherever it pleases and even perch, which it could not do with feather-flapping. It will step up to stand with its hooves before taking off from a branch.

The wallyhawk is solitary and territorial for most of the year, except during its annual breeding season. Its breeding season corresponds with the late spring or early summer in the southern hemisphere. It no longer nests on the ground, instead constructing a nest high in a tree or large shrub far away from most predators as its new ability allows, and in the sparsest parts of its range breeding pairs may fight over nesting sites. This behavior is quite far removed from the communal nesting of its ancestor. Its offspring are still decently developed at birth, though still flightless, but they rarely leave the nest until they can fly. Fledgelings generally remain in or near their tree being fed fresh meat by their parents. Once they can hunt on their own, the juveniles leave the tree, but they generally remain more arboreal than the adults while they are still learning how to use thermals.

The wallyhawk’s adaptations made it better suited for the niche of “eagle” than its relatives. As a result, it has outcompeted the following where their ranges overlap: Faxon, Sausophrey, and Sansaws.