Accipitrimorphae Temporal range: Eocene–recent | |
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File:Accipitrimorphae diversity.png | |
Diversity. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Superorder: | Neoaves |
Clade: | Inopinaves |
Clade: | Telluraves |
Clade: | Afroaves |
Superorder: | Accipitrimorphae Vieillot, 1816 |
Orders and Families | |
Accipitrimorphae is a group of birds that includes the Cathartiformes: New World vultures and Accipitriformes: Secretarybird, Osprey and the hawk family, Accipitridae. Together with Falconiformes and Strigiformes, they are called birds of prey or raptors.
Etymology[]
Accipitrimorphae is derived from the genus Accipiter. From Latin accipiter, accipitris hawk < accipere to grasp (the original meaning was “to understand” rather than “to seize”) (cf. Med. L. accipiter Sparrowhawk; ancipiter Goshawk).[1]
Taxonomy[]
Accipitrimorphae is a member of the bird clades called Telluraves and Afroaves. They are closely related to owls (Strigiformes), mousebirds (Coliiformes), the Cuckoo Roller (Leptosomiformes),[2] trogons (Trogoniformes), Bucerotiformes, Coraciiformes[3] and Piciformes.[4] They are sister to Australaves, which contains the falcons, seriemas, parrots[5] and passerines.[6]
Members of Accipitrimorphae were once a part of Falconiformes (Sibley and Ahlquist, 1991).[7]
Cathartidae[]
The New World vultures were once part of the storks (Sibley and Ahlquist, 1990?[verification needed][8]), while Sibley and Monroe placed them as a subfamily of Ciconiidae, as a part of the "expanded Ciconiiformes".[9]
This was shown to be untrue, and more recent research (e.g., Hackett et al., 2008[10]; Han et al., 2011[11]; McCormack et al., 2013[12]; Yuri et al., 2013[13]) puts the New World vultures close to the Accipitriformes.[14]
Sagittariidae[]
The Secretarybird is occasionally included in Accipitridae (EDGE).[15]
Pycraft (1902)[16] and Mayr and Amadon (1951)[17] considered it to be closer to the Gruiformes than the Falconiformes.[18]
Pandionidae[]
The Osprey is sometimes included in Accipitridae (Pinto, 1938[19]; Stresemann and Amadon, 1979[20]; Sibley and Monroe, 1990[9]; Dickinson et al., 2003[21]; AOU, 1998[22]; Simpson and Day, 1999 and 2010[23][24]; Brazil, 2009[25], Garrigues and Dean, 2007[26]), but some authorities place it in its own family, Pandionidae (American Ornithologists’ Union, 1983[27]; del Hoyo et al. 1994[28], Ferguson-Lees and Christie, 2001[29], J.V. Remsen and South American Classification Committee[30]; Chesser, et. al, 2010[31]; Peterson, 1961 [1941][32]; Hackett et al. 2008[10]; Pratt and Beehler, 2014[33]).
Anatomy[]
All members of Accipitrimorphae have strong bills and sharp talons.
Distribution[]
Behaviour and diet[]
References[]
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This article is part of Project Bird Taxonomy, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every order, family and other taxonomic rank related to birds. |