Skueasels

Efficient predators that combine highly evolved traits with a primitive appearance, skueasels embody the adaptability and versatility of the skuorc bodyplan.

Hothouse skuorcs have evolved quickly into many new species to take advantage of new conditions and food sources. 280 million years PE, thanks to several migrations overseas via rafting, they are now found across the whole world, though their diversity is strongest in the north where they first evolved. In the southern hemisphere multiple different introductions of skuorcs and their descendants have occurred, one at the start of the hothouse 9 million years ago with the skuorc itself, and several since involving the derived skuzzards that are especially common rafters due to their small size and slow metabolism. The former group, having had more time to evolve in isolation, has given rise to more unique animals from their northerly relatives. One group is the skueasels, and they are broadly made up of small, mammal-like predators notable for their low-slung bodies and fierce hunting instincts. In many respects they are the Serinaustran equivalent to kittyhawks and stoatshrikes and exhibit similarly serrated bills and sharp claws suitable for digging after burrowing prey. 

Like the gravediggers an ocean away, these fast, stealthy creatures feed on small animals like murds, and well-adapted to slink down into underground tunnels and dispatch their victims with their hooked beaks, usually hunting alone and being highly territorial. With short, smooth plumage, unbranched and fur-like, covering their entire bodies head to toe, they have lost the protective scales along their faces which their ancestors evolved to protect themselves in territorial fights. A whip-like tail can be used to whack enemies or provide balance while seeking shelter up a tree, while sensitive hair-like whiskers help it judge the size of holes so that it can determine whether or not it can fit its whole body down in pursuit of food or a place to hide. Alert and fierce with an active demeanor, these animals are not as intelligent as many contemporary birds and in some ways may seem primitive, almost primordial, despite being among Serina's most derived living birds. Watching as they scurry along the forest floor, whiskers twitching and tails flicking, they resemble both the common ancestors of birds and mammals alike. Skuorcs in general are highly adaptable animals with such a generalized body plan that under the right circumstances, they seem like they could evolve into nearly anything. 

And in the hothouse, if they haven't done it already, they probably will soon.