Lamarckophrey

The Lamarckophrey split from its ancestor and moved inland into Lamarck, reverting somewhat to an ancestral form. Having come from a lineage with its origins on the supercontinent, it was competitively pre-prepared for the comparatively less-competitive environment of the island continent and rapidly established itself as a new addition to its diversity of predators. Similar to more basal ophreys in niche, it prefers prey which it can pluck from the ground mid-flight with its inward-curling mandibles. In the woodlands, it will also pluck prey from trees. It can even grab prey from midair. It can also kill larger prey on the ground without carrying it into the sky, doing so especially around breeding season.

In accordance with Dollo's law, the Lamarckophrey's characteristics are not a true atavism, but instead the result of convergent evolution. It has slotted wings, but its wing structure is overall more like the albedophrey's than like basal ophreys, and it retains its ancestor's slightly larger ears. It also has not reverted its beak shape, instead evolving a new talon-beak from a modification of the slight downwards curl of the albedophrey's beak.

Without the need to carry food over significantly long distances, the Lamarckophrey's chest pouch has atrophied into a mere skin flap, and it uses its esophagus as its main temporary food store instead. It also no longer produces significant amounts of oil, though high humidity can trigger oil production and an instinct to preen.

The Lamarckophrey nests on cliffs, typically supported by trees and shrubs, and breeds in the spring and summer. A male will build a nest and prepare feasts in front of them for passing females, and different males will compete by offering free samples. More lavish samples are more likely to hold a female's attention, but this comes at a risk should she decide to just eat it all and leave, leaving the male with significantly less to offer to the next female that passes by. When a female has eaten a sample and it is to her liking, the two will mate, and the female will then eat the rest of the feast herself, leaving the male to hunt for more. The male does most of the hunting while the female lays and incubates the eggs, of which there will be 1-3. If she's satisfied that the male's hunting ability lives up to the initial feast, once the eggs hatch into fluffy, semi-precocial chicks, she will leave them to be raised by their father, but will return later that season to breed again. Otherwise, she may refuse to allow the male to return to the nest and will then raise them herself, and then choose a different male next time. Successful males that have not been kicked out of their nest will build it up year after year, with the largest nests exceeding 4 meters in depth.

Well protected in large nests upon cliffs, Lamarckophrey chicks have no need to be able to run around at hatching and instead sit around at the nest waiting to be fed. The parent raising them, usually the father, will deliver pre-killed food at first, but slowly introduce live, but frequently injured, prey so that they can learn to hunt. Once the chicks fledge at 10-12 weeks of age, they can begin hunting on their own, but their parent will stay close by to keep them out of danger and help them if they are having any trouble. Once they pass about 6 months of age, they become fully independent. They reach sexual maturity after about 5 years, and can live for as long as 30.