This superorder is represented by the sole order Strigiformes comprising the following families:

• Strigidae (Typical Owls)
• Tytonidae (Barn Owls)

Timetree of the family-level relationships within Strigiformes based on Kuhl et al. (2021), with the distribution of each taxon being indicated by the colour-code used throughout this website (see Distribution code).  

References

Fuchs, J., J.-M. Pons, S.M.. Goodman, V. Bretagnolle,M. Melo, R.C.K. Bowie, D. Currie, R.Safford, M.Z. Virani, S. Thomsett, A. Hija, C, Cruaud and E.

Pasquet (2008), Tracing the colonization history of the Indian Ocean scops-owls (Strigiformes: Otus) with further insight into the spation-temporal origin of thr Malagasy avifauna, BMC Evol. Biol. 8, 197. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-8-197. (pdf)

Kang, H., B. Li, X. Ma, and Y. Xu (2018), Evolutionary progression of mitochondrial gene rearrangements and phylogenetic relationships in Strigidae

(Strigiformes), Gene 674, 8-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2018.06.066. (abstract)

Kuhl, H., C. Frankl-Vilches, A. Bakker, G. Mayr, G. Nikolaus, S.T. Boerno, S. Klages, B. Timmermann, and M. Gahr (2021), An unbiased molecular approach

 using 3'UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life, Mol. Biol. Evol. 38(1), 108-127. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa191. (pdf)

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

nightjars, PeerJ Preprints, publ: 12 Jan 2019. DOI: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.27478v1. (pdf)

Salter, J.F., C.H. Oliveros, P.A. Hosner, J.D. Manthey, M.B. Robbins, R.G. Moyle, R.T. Brumfield, and B.C. Faircloth (2019), Extensive paraphyly in the

typical owl family (Strigidae), Auk 137, 1-15. DOI: 10.1093/auk/ukz070. (pdf)

Sun, C.-H., H.-Y. Liu, X. Min, and C.-H. Lu (2020), Mitogenome of the little owl Athene noctua and phylogenetic analysis of Strigidae, Int. J. Biol.

Mac. 151, 924-931. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.02.238. (abstract)

Uva, V., M. Päckert, A. Cibois, L. Fumagalli, and A. Roulin (2018), Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of barn owls and relatives (family: Tytonidae), and

their six major Pleistocene radiations, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 125, 127-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.013.
 (abstract)

Wink, M., A.-A. El-Sayed, H. Sauer-Gürth, and J. Gonzalez (2009), Molecular phylogeny of owls (Strigiformes) inferred from DNA sequences of the

mitochondrial cytochrome B and the nuclear RAG-1 gene, Ardea 97(4), 581-591. DOI: 10.5253/078.097.0425. (pdf)

 Zhou, C., Y. Chen, Y. Hao, Y. Meng, B. Yue, and T. Zeng (2019), Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of Otus

sunia (Strigiformes: Strigidae), Mitochondrial DNA Part B 4(1), 804-805. DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2019.1574643. (pdf)