Falconiformes

Traditionally, this order comprises only a single family, Falconidae (falcons, carcaras). 

 

Genus-level timetree of extant Falconidae based on Fuchs et al. (2015) and Oswald et al. (2019), with the distribution of each taxon being indicated by the colour-code used throughout this website (see Distribution code). The divergence times of subfamilies follow Kuhl et al. (2021).  


References/Literature

Fuchs J, Johnson JA, and Mindell DP (2012), Molecular systematics of the caracaras and allies (Falconidae: Polyborinae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data, Ibis 154, 520-532. (abstract)

 

Fuchs J, Johnson JA, and Mindell DP (2015), Rapid diversification of falcons (Aves: Falconidae) due to expansion of open habitats in the Late Miocene, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 82, 166-182. (abstract)

 

Griffiths CS, Barrowclough GF, Groth JG, and Mertz LA (2004), Phylogeny of the Falconidae (Aves): a comparison of the efficacy of morphological, mitochondrial, and nuclear data, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 32, 101-109. (abstract)

 

Kuhl H, Frankl-Vilches C, Bakker A, Mayr G, Nikolaus G, Boerno ST, Klages S, Timmermann B, and Gahr M (2021), An unbiased molecular approach using 3'UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life, Mol. Biol. Evol. 38 (1), 108-127(pdf)

 

Liu G, Zhou L, and Zhao G (2019), Complete mitochondrial genomes of five raptors and implications for the phylogenetic relationships between owls and nightjars, PeerJ Preprints. (pdf)

 

Mindell DP, Fuchs J, and Johnson JA (2018), Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes, In: Sarasola, J.H. et al., Birds of prey, Chapter 1, 3-32. Springer.  (abstract)

 

Oswald JA, Allen JM, Witt KE, Folk RA, Albury NA, Steadman DW, and Guralnick RP (2019), Ancient DNA from a 2,500-year-old Caribbean fossil places an extinct bird (Caracara creightoni) in a phylogenetic context, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 140:106576.
 (abstract)