The order Cathartiformes of raptors or

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

includes the

New World vultures The New World vulture or condor family, Cathartidae, contains seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. The "New World" vultures were widespread ...

and the now-extinct

Teratornithidae Teratornithidae is an extinct family of very large birds of prey that lived in North and South America from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene. They include some of the largest known flying birds. Taxonomy Teratornithidae are related t ...

. These raptors are classified by most taxonomic authorities in the order

Accipitriformes The Accipitriformes (; from Latin ''accipiter''/''accipitri-'' "hawk", and New Latin ''-formes'' "having the form of") are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not f ...

(which includes the eagles and hawks). In the past, they were considered to be a sister group to the storks of the order

Ciconiiformes Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons a ...

based on

DNA–DNA hybridization In genomics, DNA–DNA hybridization is a molecular biology technique that measures the degree of genetic similarity between pools of DNA sequences. It is usually used to determine the genetic distance between two organisms and has been used ex ...

and morphology. However, a 2021 analysis of

mitochondrial genes Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

among Accipitrimorphae, which include Cathartiformes, reinforced prior findings on the phylogenetic relationships between Cathartiformes and other subfamilies of Accipitriformes.

References

* Eocene birds Eocene animals of North America Eocene animals of South America Paleogene birds of North America Paleogene birds of South America Neogene birds of North America Neogene birds of South America Quaternary birds of North America Quaternary birds of South America Extant Eocene first appearances {{bird-stub