Columbaves

Otidimorphae

Columbimorphae

47 AVIAN ORDERS

Palaeognathae

Galloanserae

Mirandornithes

Columbaves

Otidimorphae

Columbimorphae

Elementaves

GRUAE

Opisthocomimorphae

Gruimorphae

Ardeae

Eurypygimorphae

Aequornithes

Strisores

Telluraves

Afroaves

Australaves

COLUMBAVES Prum et al., 2015

Columbaves contains about 5% of the avian tree. It is the next branch of Neoaves after Mirandornithes, according to Stiller et al. (2024). However, Kuhl et al. (2021) group it with the Gruimorphae (rails and shorebirds), Hoatzin, and Strisores (nightjars, swifts, hummingbirds), partially recalling Fain and Houde's (2004) Metaves hypothesis. However, I'm giving preference to Stiller et al. because they use more data, and have taken steps to avoid the frozen gene problem.

As for Fain and Houde (2004), Jarvis et al. (2014) already made it clear that the original Metaves hypothesis did not hold up in larger datasets. It was in fact an artifact of using the β-fibrogen gene, particularly the 7th intron. Nonetheless, some of the signal was real, and Columbaves remains, gathering the Otidimorphae and Columbimorphae once the Eurypygimorphae, Strisores, and Hoatzin have been moved elsewhere, as they are by Stiller et al.

Jarvis et al. (2014) divided Neoaves into g (including Mirandornithes) and Passerea. This doesn't make sense in the Stiller et al. phylogeny. Had Jarvis et al. used this topology, they would have surely used Passerea for the remainder of the avian tree after the Columbaves split. That is how I will use it here, but with quotation marks to indicate it is not the Jarvis et al. Passerea.

Focusing on Columbaves, we find it is comprised of two superorders: Otidimorphae and Columbimorphae. Stiller et al. (2024) found that each of them is comprised of three orders. Otidimorphae includes Musophagiformes (turacos), Otidiformes (bustards), and Cuculiformes (cuckoos) while Columbimorphae includes Mesitornithiformes (mesites), Pterocliformes (sandgrouse), and Columbiformes (doves and pigeons). This is one place where Kuhl et al. (2021) disagree. They put the cuckoos in Columbimorphae, not Otidimorphae.

Reading off Fig. ED-2, we see that Stiller et al. (2024) estimate the division into Columbaves and "Passerea" occurred 67.5±1.25 million years ago. The split between Otidimorphae and Columbimorphae happened relatively soon after. They estimate it was about 1.7 million years later.

OTIDIMORPHAE Wagler 1830

I follow the arrangment of the orders in Stiller et al. (2024), with the turacos basal in Otidimorphae. In contrast, the cuckoos were basal in Jarvis et al. (2014). No one is surprised by a grouping that includes the turacos and cuckoos. What is surprising is that the bustards snuck in next to the turacos. Even more surpising is Kuhl et al. (2021) which has the turacos and bustards as sister taxa, with the cuckoos exiled to Columbimorphae.

According to Stiller et al.'s point estimates, the splits between all three orders in Otidimorphae happened before 60 mya.

MUSOPHAGIFORMES Seebohm, 1890

Musophagidae: Turacos Lesson, 1828

10 genera, 23 species HBW-4

The arrangement of the Turacos is based on a combination of Veron and Winney (2000) and Njabo and Sorenson (2009). Both use essentially the same data set (except for bannermani), but analyze it differently, with mostly the same results.

As in previous phylogenies of the turacos, there are three subfamilies: Corythaeolinae, Criniferinae, and Musophaginae. Corythaeolinae is monotypic. Musophaginae variously ends up sister to each of the others, so I treat this as an unresolved trichotomy. Within Criniferinae, Veron and Winney (2000) and Njabo and Sorenson (2009) found that the White-bellied Go-away-bird is sister to the rest. This demands a change of genus for it, in this case to Criniferoides (Roberts, 1926).

They also found that the Purple-crested and Ruwenzori Turacos are sister species, and basal in the Musophaginae subfamily. Veron and Winney (2000) also recommend placing them in the same genus. In that case Gallirex has priority.

For the rest, the tree here leaves two main naming options. One is to put them in one genus (Tuaraco). This does a poor job of reflecting phylogeny. The other option is the one followed here, using a more narrowly circumscribed Tuaraco. The name Menelikornis (von Boetticher 1947) applies to the White-cheeked Turaco, while Proturacus (Bates 1923) has priority for the Bannerman's Turaco group. Finally, given the difference in appearance between the two Musophaga and the Yellow-billed Turaco, I perfer to put the latter in a separate genus. It becomes Pseudopoetus (von Boetticher 1947).

Corythaeolinae: Great Blue Turaco Verheyen, 1956

Criniferinae: Go-away-birds and Plantain-eaters Verheyen, 1956

Musophaginae: Turacos Lesson, 1828

OTIDIFORMES Wagler 1830

The bustards have been reorganized using Cohen (2011, esp. Figs 2.4-2.5), who included all the bustards in a multigene analysis. The arrangment is rather different from the cytochrome-b results of Pitra et al. (2002), which I had previously used. Some uncertainty remains concerning the exact position of Lissotis, Tetrax, and the Otis-Chlamydotis clade.

Both Pitra et al. (2002) and Cohen (2011) support merging Neotis (Sharpe, 1893) into Ardeotis (Le Maout, 1853) and separating Heterotetrax (Sharpe, 1894, type vigorsii) from Eupodotis. Those three species have sometimes been considered a separate genus under this name.

Following Hockey et al. (2005, aka Roberts VII), Barrow's Korhaan, Eupodotis barrowii, is considered a subspecies of White-bellied Bustard, Eupodotis senegalensis.

Otididae: Bustards Rafinesque, 1815

11 genera, 26 species HBW-3

CUCULIFORMES Wagler 1830

There is no real question that the cuckoos form a clade. The Cuculiformes are placed here following Jarvis et al. (2014). Some divisions between the branches of Cuculiformes are old, and it may make sense to promotes some subfamilies to family level.

Cuculidae: Cuckoos Leach, 1820

32 genera, 147 species HBW-4

Very complete information is available on cuckoo taxonomy. Sorenson and Payne (2005) carried out a very extensive study of Cuckoo DNA. The result is the sequence used in Payne's book (2005). After adjusting the species limits for a couple of couas, it is the same sequence that is used here. Click on the graphic below for the genus-level tree.

Although Burchell's Coucal, Centropus superciliosus burchellii is sometimes treated as a separate species, the genetic data examined by Sorenson and Payne (2005) does not support this. The same is true of the Kai Coucal, Centropus phasianinus spilopterus.

The race aeruginosus has been transferred from Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Cacomantis sepulcralis, to Moluccan Cuckoo. As aeruginosus (Salvadori, 1878) has priority over heinrichi (Stresemann, 1931), the Moluccan Cuckoo becomes Cacomantis aeruginosus.

Crotophaginae: Anis Swainson, 1837

Neomorphinae: Ground-Cuckoos, Roadrunners Shelley, 1891

Couinae: Couas Bonaparte, 1854

Centropodinae: Coucals Horsfield, 1823

Cuculinae: Cuckoos Leach 1820

Rhinorthini: Raffles's Malkoha Informal

Phaenicophaeini: Malkohas, Clamator, American Cuckoos Horsfield, 1822

Cuculini: Old World Parasitic Cuckoos Wagler 1830

Previous Page Next Page