The predator turnover

Flying predators of Antarctica underwent a great turnover in the middle Lentocene. Despite the initial difficulty of true birds of prey to occupy the niche of skeagles, the aggravation of the antarctic climate and the arrival of new and unexpected prey and predators have strongly impacted the overall biodiversity and distribution of this shorebirds clade.

Now, all three groups of birds of prey can be found, with a variable success depending on the species. The austral titan eagle (Olaquila meridionalis (gigas)) has completely wiped away the large skeagles that once hunted in the open landscapes of Polarica. This gigantic predator is as large as the holocenic Haast's eagle, but with a larger wingspan, an adaptation to sorrow the barren tundra of the icy continent. Olaquila genus is cosmopolitan, filling a macro predatory niche: here in Antarctica, this eagle has rapidly adapted to hunt large anatids, as large as a pelican bullduck. Other species of the Accipitriformes order can be found, with some species as "small" as a buzzard.
Predatory niches are also occupied by the members of the Falconiformes group, like the lowland falcon (Planifalco raptorius), which is mostly found in the large lowlands of Wilkes. A skilled predator, this carnivore mostly hunts medium-sized birds and mammals, like rails, ground tyrants and rarely geotters. During polar nights, they are known to move in coastal habitats, following herbivores' movements.
Tytonids (barn-owls) were able to colonize Antarctica too, but only partially and with only one species, the barn howler (Imperatyto aviphaga), restricted to the sub temperate areas of Weddell, with no more than 5.000 breeding pairs. This is the outermost part of its real distribution, since the main population is found across South America. Barn howler hunts during night or dusk and it's able to take down small prey not heavier than 2 kg, despite its fairly large size. During warm summers, the main food of this owl are crickets, the only group of orthopters of Antarctica: some cricket species can easily reach 8 cm (3.14 inches) in length, approaching the size of the largest weta species, making a good meal for this tytonid.

Skeagles, at their peak, comprised 8 species. Now, only one species has remained, the LOSE, an acronym for Last of skua eagles (Silvistercorarius unicum). It's the superpredator of its ecosystem: they are forest-dwellers, reaching even 3 kg (6.6 pounds). Despite some birds of prey have adapted to hunt in meadows and forest edges, none had the time yet to become woodland specialists. This is, sadly, the probable reason why the LOSE was able to survive until now. But nothing seems to be lost, for now: the little ice age is slowly at the end, with a final re-expansion of the LOSE habitat.
Will this incredible group of predatory birds face its final fate, or will be able to survive and flourish again despite new competitors? Time will be the only answer