Over the (hoof) top
The giant hoofpoles

Hoofpoles include mainly medium-sized ground bird species that dwell in the vast open landscapes of Antarctica. However, some species have evolved into literal skyscrapers, not from a single lineage but independently at least three times. In their habitats, they are among the most ecologically important herbivores. Thanks to their great height and flexible necks, they can feed both on plants up to five meters high and on tall grasses close to the ground. This plasticity has allowed them to expand into almost any type of Antarctic habitat, with only the most open steppe-like environments avoided, leaving space for smaller hoofpoles.

Among the largest species is the high-heel hoofpole (Xeroaltiungulatum glaucum), a relative of the same-sized crowned hoofpole. It normally reaches four meters in height, though some male individuals grow as tall as five meters, making it the tallest species in its range. High-heel hoofpoles inhabit environments from the dry forests of western Polarica to the shrubby landscapes of the Great Depresseaon. They are mainly browsers that feed on fresh leaves and buds, which are digested in a large stomach more efficient than those of smaller hoofpoles, which must supplement their diet more frequently with invertebrates.

As its name suggests, this hoofpole has a single large spur instead of two, a derived trait among hoofpoles. The spur is sharply pointed and resembles a high-heeled shoe. Unlike other smaller and flying heeled hoofpoles, the spur cannot sustain the animal’s weight, but it is used instead as a deadly weapon against predators. If intimidation fails, high-heel hoofpoles can still escape at high speed, using the typical unbalanced stance of hoofpoles to maximize acceleration. Wings are vestigial, less than half the size of a human hand, but extremely robust. They function as hooks, allowing the animal to carry nesting material more efficiently...after all, three “hands” are better than one (the mouth). As all hoopoles, they produce a secretion from their crop, like pigeons, that makes young grow faster.
High-heel hoofpoles are nomadic and lack permanent territories, roaming freely according to food availability. Populations in the Great Depresseaon undertake astonishing migrations of hundreds of kilometers during the dry season, moving toward mountain valleys or lush endorheic deltas at the heart of the basin. During droughts, they can survive without drinking for a month, relying on water stored in the plants they eat. To regulate body temperature in their warm to hot habitats, they have lost feathers on their neck and legs, retaining only a small tuft beneath the jaw. Legs are gray and scaly, while the almost featherless neck is bright blue, serving both as a sexual display and as a means of communication.

Water and thermal regulation are not major concerns instead for another large hoofpole species, the pink spooner (Neoplatalea pantarctanalensis). This bird inhabits the wetlands of the Amery Plateau, including the vast flooded bioregion of the Pantarctanal. Though smaller than the high-heel hoofpole, the pink spooner has stronger legs and large hooves with webbed skin between the digits. These adaptations allow it to move through muddy soils where other hoofpoles would sink.
The pink spooner is strikingly colored, with plumage as pink as a flamingo, and it possesses a very long spoon-like beak. This beak works much like that of a spoonbill, sweeping sideways underwater to capture prey. The species feeds on crustaceans, insects, fish, aquatic microvertebrates, and soft plants. About 70% of its diet is composed of aquatic invertebrates and small vertebrates, making it one of the most carnivorous hoofpoles. However, its feeding system limits it to prey under 5 kg, though it can swallow carrion up to 15 kg.

Pink spooners live either solitarily or in small social groups. They are known to cooperate when hunting schooling fish, and they are capable of swimming horizontally like a human, which make these birds very comical to see while crossing large water but, despite their apparent goofiness, these birds have great swimming abilities, which are also used to escape from predators. They face few threats due to their swampy habitat, which most large predators avoid because of unstable terrain. Their main enemies are pinpiercers, which can kill them in open wetlands with well-focused air strikes. Occasionally, large boraxes can ambush pink spooners along rivers, but in the water these birds can stomp their attackers to death, gaining the advantage in their element.