Class Aves
Order Accipitriformes
Accipitridae—Hawks and Eagles
This order formerly was part of the Falconiformes and included the vultures and condors along with the extinct teratorns. With the realization that the falcons and relatives were not closely related to hawks, vultures, and teratorns, these taxa were split away from the Falconiformes, becoming the Accipitriformes. Further investigation indicated that the vultures and teratorns were closely related, but separate, from the Accipitriformes and thus have been split off as the Cathartiformes.
Although birds as a group were relatively unscathed by the end-Pleistocene extinctions, this is not true of the Accipitridae (nor of the Cathartidae).
Last Update: 19 Jun 2017