Class Aves
Order Accipitriformes
Accipitridae—Hawks and Eagles // Cathartidae—New World Vultures
This order formerly was part of the Falconiformes; with the realization that the falcons and relatives were not closely related to hawks and vultures, the latter were split away, becoming the Accipitriformes. The AOU checklist for the Accipitriformes is followed here, with regional accipitriformes falling into the families Accipitridae and Cathartidae. See also the remarks under the Cathartidae account.
Although birds as a group were relatively unscathed by the end-Pleistocene extinctions, this is not true of the Accipitridae and the Cathartidae.
Last Update: 2 Apr 2013