Charadriiformes
| Charadriiformes Temporal range: Late Cretaceous-Present, 75–0 Ma |
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| Several members of the order | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Passerea |
| Clade: | Gruae |
| Clade: | Gruimorphae |
| Order: |
Charadriiformes Huxley, 1867 |
| Families | |
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See text. |
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See text.
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic (seabirds), some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick forest.
The order was formerly divided into three suborders:
The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, which has been widely accepted in America, lumps all the Charadriiformes together with other seabirds and birds of prey into a greatly enlarged order Ciconiiformes. However, the resolution of the DNA-DNA hybridization technique used by Sibley & Ahlquist was not sufficient to properly resolve the relationships in this group, and indeed it appears as if the Charadriiformes constitute a single large and very distinctive lineage of modern birds of their own.
The auks, usually considered distinct because of their peculiar morphology, are more likely related to gulls, the "distinctness" being a result of adaptation for diving. Following recent research, a better arrangement may be as follows:
This is a list of the charadriiform families, presented in taxonomic order.
More conservatively, the Thinocori could be included in the Scolopaci, and the Chionidi in the Charadrii, or the Glareolidae could be placed in a suborder of their own. The buttonquails are of indeterminate or basal position in the Lari-Scolopaci sensu lato group. The arrangement as presented here is a consensus of the recent studies.
A rough consensus of current research on shorebird relationships is reproduced below, based on Naish (2012).
Mirandornithes? (flamingos & grebes)
Scolopaci (sandpipers and kin)
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