List of birds
Bird taxonomy
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This page lists living orders and families of birds. The links below should then lead to family accounts and hence to individual species. For extinct birds, please see Extinct birds, Prehistoric birds and Fossil birds.
Taxonomy is very fluid in the age of DNA analysis, so comments are made where appropriate, and all numbers are approximate. In particular see Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy for a very different classification.
Paleognathae
The flightless and mostly giant Struthioniformes lack a keeled sternum and are collectively known as ratites. Together with the Tinamiformes, they form the Paleognathae or "old jaws", one of the two evolutionary superorders.
Mainly southern hemisphere; 12 species; sometimes all families are raised to order rank.
- Struthionidae: Ostrich
- Rheidae: rheas
- Casuariidae: cassowaries, emus
- Apterygidae: kiwis
South America; 45 species.
- Tinamidae: tinamous
Neognathae
Nearly all living birds belong to the superorder of Neognathae or "new jaws". With their keels, unlike the ratites, they are known as carinates. The passerines alone account for well over 5000 species.
Worldwide; 150 species.
- Anhimidae: screamers
- Anseranatidae: Magpie-goose
- Anatidae: ducks, eiders, geese, goldeneyes, mergansers, pintails, pochards, scaups, scoters, shovelers, swans, teals, wigeons
Worldwide except northern Eurasia; 250 species.
- Megapodidae: mound-builders
- Cracidae: chachalacas, curassows, guans
- Phasianoidea: pheasants and allies
- Odontophoridae: New World quails
- Numididae: guineafowl
- Phasianidae: pheasants, chickens, francolins, grouse, junglefowl, monals, partridges, peafowl, Old World quail, turkeys
Worldwide; 19 species.
- Podicipedidae: grebes
Worldwide; 6 species.
- Phoenicopteridae: flamingoes
Africa, Europe, Asia; 16 species.
- Pteroclididae: sandgrouse
Worldwide; 300 species.
- Columbidae: pigeons, doves
Worldwide; 90 species.
- Steatornithidae: Oilbird
- Podargidae: frogmouths
- Nyctibiidae: potoos
- Caprimulgidae: nightjars, nighthawks, pauraques, poorwills
- Eurostopodidae: eared-nightjars
Worldwide; 400 species.
- Trochilidae: hummingbirds and allies
- Apodidae: swifts, needletails, swiftlets
- Hemiprocnidae: tree swifts
Oceania; 10 species.
- Aegothelidae: owlet-nightjars
Worldwide; 150 species.
- Opisthocomidae: Hoatzin; probably a distinct order.
- Musophagidae: turacos, go-away-birds, plantain-eaters
- Cuculidae: cuckoos, anis, couas, coucals, koels, malkohas, roadrunners
Worldwide; 200 species.
- Mesitornithidae: mesites; probably a distinct order.
- Eurypygidae: Sunbittern; probably a distinct order.
- Rhynochetidae: Kagu; probably a distinct order.
- Otididae: bustards
- Grui: cranes and allies
- Gruidae: cranes
- Aramidae: Limpkin
- Psophiidae: trumpeters
- Ralli: rails and allies
- Rallidae: rails, coots, crakes, flufftails, moorhens
- Heliornithidae: finfoots
- Cariamidae: seriemas; probably a distinct order.
North America, Eurasia; 5 species.
- Gaviidae: divers, loons
Antarctic and southern waters; 17 species.
- Spheniscidae: penguins
Pan-oceanic; 120 species.
- Diomedeidae: albatrosses
- Procellariidae: fulmarine petrels, gadfly petrels, prions, shearwaters
- Pelecanoididae: diving petrels
- Hydrobatidae: storm petrels
Worldwide; 100 species.
- Ciconiidae: storks
- Threskiornithidae: ibises, spoonbills
- Ardeidae: herons, bitterns, egrets
Worldwide; 68 species.
- Phaethontidae: tropicbirds; probably a distinct order.
- Balaenicipitidae: Shoebill
- Scopidae: Hammerkop
- Pelecanidae: pelicans
- Sulae: cormorants and allies
- Fregatidae: frigatebirds
- Sulidae: boobies, gannets
- Phalacrocoracidae: cormorants, shags
- Anhingidae: darters
Worldwide; 300 species.
- Scolopaci
- Scolopacidae: sandpipers, curlews, dowitchers, godwits, phalaropes, shanks, snipes, tattlers, turnstones, woodcocks
- Thinocori: aberrant waders
- Rostratulidae: painted snipe
- Jacanidae: jacanas
- Thinocoridae: seedsnipe
- Pedionomidae: Plains Wanderer
- Lari: gulls and allies
- Laridae: gulls, kittiwakes
- Rhynchopidae: skimmers
- Sternidae: terns, noddies
- Alcidae: auks, auklets, guillemots, murres, murrelets, puffins
- Stercorariidae: skuas, jaegers
- Glareolidae: coursers, pratincoles
- Dromadidae: Crab Plover
- Turnici
- Turnicidae: buttonquails
- Chionidi: thick-knees and allies
- Burhinidae: stone-curlews, thick-knees
- Chionididae: sheathbills
- Pluvianellidae: Magellanic Plover
- Charadrii: plover-like waders
- Ibidorhynchidae: Ibisbill
- Recurvirostridae: avocets, stilts
- Haematopodidae: oystercatchers
- Charadriidae: plovers, lapwings
Worldwide; 260 species; sometimes all families except Falconidae are separated as Accipitriformes.
- Falconidae: caracaras, falcons, falconets, hobbies, kestrels
- Cathartidae: New World vultures, condors
- Pandionidae: Osprey
- Accipitridae: buzzards, eagles, harriers, hawks, kites, Old World vultures
- Sagittaridae: Secretary Bird
Worldwide; 130 species.
Sub-Saharan Africa; 6 species.
- Coliidae: mousebirds
Sub-Saharan Africa, Americas, Asia; 35 species.
- Trogonidae: trogons, quetzals
Worldwide; 200 species; sometimes Bucerotidae, Upupidae and Phoeniculidae are separated as Bucerotiformes.
- Leptosomatidae: Cuckoo-roller; probably a distinct order.
- Bucerotidae: hornbills
- Upupidae: Hoopoe
- Phoeniculidae: woodhoopoes
- Meropidae: bee-eaters
- Coraciidae: rollers
- Brachypteraciidae: ground rollers
- Todidae: todies
- Momotidae: motmots
- Alcedines: kingfishers
- Alcedinidae: river kingfishers
- Halcyonidae: tree kingfishers
- Cerylidae: water kingfishers
Worldwide except Australasia; 400 species.
- Galbulae: jacamars, puffbirds
- Galbulidae: jacamars
- Bucconidae: puffbirds
- Pici: woodpeckers and allies
- Lybiidae: African barbets
- Megalaimidae: Asian barbets
- Ramphastidae: toucans
- Semnornithidae: toucan-barbets
- Capitonidae: American barbets
- Picidae: woodpeckers, piculets, wrynecks
- Indicatoridae: honeyguides
Pan-tropical, southern temperate zones; 330 species.
- Cacatuidae: cockatoos
- Psittacidae: parrots, amazons, conures, lories, lorikeets, macaws, parakeets, parrotlets, racquet-tails, rosellas
Worldwide; 5000 species.
- Acanthisitti
- Acanthisittidae: New Zealand wrens
- Tyranni: suboscines
- Tyrannidae: tyrant flycatchers
- Pittidae: pittas
- Furnariidae: ovenbirds
- Thamnophilidae: antbirds
- Formicariidae: antpittas and antthrushes
- Conopophagidae: gnateaters
- Rhinocryptidae: tapaculos
- Cotingidae: cotingas
- Pipridae: manakins
- Philepittidae: asities
- Passeri: oscines
- Atrichornithidae: scrub-birds
- Menuridae: lyrebirds
- Turnagridae: Piopio
- Alaudidae: larks
- Hirundinidae: swallows
- Motacillidae: wagtails and pipits
- Campephagidae: cuckoo-shrikes
- Eupetidae: rail-babbler
- Pycnonotidae: bulbuls
- Regulidae: kinglets
- Chloropseidae: leafbirds
- Aegithinidae: ioras
- Ptilogonatidae: silky-flycatchers
- Bombycillidae: waxwings
- Hypocoliidae: hypocolius
- Dulidae: Palmchat
- Cinclidae: dippers
- Troglodytidae: wrens
- Mimidae: mockingbirds, thrashers and Gray Catbird
- Prunellidae: accentors
- Turdidae: thrushes and allies
- Cisticolidae: cisticolas and allies
- Sylviidae: Old World warblers
- Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers
- Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers
- Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes
- Petroicidae: Australasian robins
- Pachycephalidae: whistlers and allies
- Picathartidae: rockfowl
- Timaliidae: babblers
- Pomatostomidae: pseudo-babblers
- Paradoxornithidae: parrotbills
- Orthonychidae: logrunner and chowchilla
- Cinclosomatidae: whipbirds and quail-thrushes
- Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits
- Maluridae: fairy-wrens, emu-wrens and grasswrens
- Neosittidae: sitellas
- Climacteridae: Australasian treecreepers
- Paridae: chickadees and tits
- Sittidae: nuthatches
- Tichodromidae: Wallcreeper
- Certhiidae: treecreepers
- Rhabdornithidae: Philippine creepers
- Remizidae: penduline tits
- Nectariniidae: sunbirds and spiderhunters
- Melanocharitidae: berrypeckers and longbills
- Paramythiidae: tit berrypecker and crested berrypeckers
- Dicaeidae: flowerpeckers
- Pardalotidae: pardalotes, thornbills and allies
- Zosteropidae: white-eyes
- Promeropidae: sugarbirds
- Meliphagidae: honeyeaters and chats
- Oriolidae: Old World orioles
- Irenidae: fairy-bluebirds
- Laniidae: shrikes
- Malaconotidae: bushshrikes and allies
- Prionopidae: helmetshrikes
- Vangidae: vangas
- Dicruridae: drongos
- Callaeidae: wattlebirds
- Corcoracidae: White-winged Chough and Apostlebird
- Artamidae: currawongs, woodswallows, butcherbirds & allies
- Pityriaseidae: bristlehead
- Paradisaeidae: birds-of-paradise
- Ptilonorhynchidae: bowerbirds
- Corvidae: crows, jays and magpies
- Sturnidae: starlings
- Passeridae: Old World sparrows
- Ploceidae: weavers and allies
- Estrildidae: waxbills and allies
- Viduidae: indigobirds
- Vireonidae: vireos and allies
- Fringillidae: finches, crossbills and allies
- Drepanididae: Hawaiian honeycreepers
- Peucedramidae: Olive Warbler
- Parulidae: New World warblers
- Coerebidae: Bananaquit
- Thraupidae: tanagers and allies
- Emberizidae: buntings, seedeaters and allies
- Cardinalidae: saltators, cardinals and allies
- Icteridae: troupials and allies
See also
- List of African birds
- List of Asian birds
- List of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds
- List of Australian birds
- List of European birds
- List of North American birds
- Extinct birds
- Prehistoric birds
- Fossil birds
- List of chicken breeds
For regions smaller than continents see:
References
- ^ A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History. Shannon J. Hackett, et al. Science 320, 1763 (2008).
