''Plesiocathartes'' is an extinct genus of birds that lived during the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

to Oligocene period. It currently presents 5 species from Europe and North America. It was originally described related to

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 ...

, but however recent studies has uncovered that the genus was more closely related to the

cuckoo roller The cuckoo-roller or courol (''Leptosomus discolor'')del Hoyo, J. Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (2001) is the only bird in the family Leptosomidae , which was previously often placed in the order Coraciiformes but is now placed in its own order Lept ...

from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

References

The first New World occurrence of the Eocene bird ''Plesiocathartes'' (Aves: ?Leptosomidae)
Researchgate.net Retrieved June 2018. Coraciiformes Eocene birds Oligocene birds Prehistoric birds of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1908 Prehistoric bird genera {{bird-stub