While skuas dominate the sky, another group of carnivorous shorebirds is slowly making their way to the ground. The carrion sheathbill (Megachionis velox) for example is a large flying sheathbill with omnivorous behavior, like its ancestor: they eat fruits, eggs and insects during summer, while they become scavengers during winter. They are gregarious, living in flocks of up to 40 individuals. They mostly search for their food by walking on the ground, using their long legs to swiftly steal eggs or chicks from ducks. They mostly nest in thickets, safe from larger predators and especially from angry herbivores.

Another successful sheathbill is the koko (Megachionis gigas), called like this due to its typical mating call (Ko-kooooo). It's an extremely large shorebird, so large that it is practically flightless. They flutter only to reach their nests on small cliffs. Despite being heavier than a horror jaeger (up to 7 kg/15 lb), it is less capable of bringing down large prey. They mostly use their strong head to fastly peck the head of medium-sized birds, that will slowly die from bleeding. Prey are often able to escape, so the koko has developed strong legs to stalk and pursuit the weakened fugitive. Their hunting technique is less instantaneous than a skua, but it works. After all, without the need for flying, this species has removed a big energetic cost from its metabolism. Descendants of this successful species will improve this lifestyle, becoming one of the most fearful land predators of Antarctica.