Columbea

Columbea is a clade that contains Columbiformes (pigeons and doves), Pteroclididae (sandgrouses), Mesitornithidae (mesites) and Mirandornithes (flamingos and grebes), discovered by genome analysis. Until their recent placement as the sister taxon to Passerea, in the last decade various genetic analysis had found in the almost obsolete clade Metaves of uncertain placement within that group.