Werner's Guide to the Birds of Europe

The tree runs from the oldest branches to the youngest and descends layer by layer: from the main branches of the bird tree through ever smaller clades to orders, families and species. Every clade has a name — some familiar, some only coined in 2024. Where the genetic support is weak, it says so.

• Fowl Galloanserae

  With the gamebirds, the oldest branch of modern birds apart from the ratites. 46 species

  • Waterfowl Anseriformes 42 species
    Ducks, geese and swans Anatidae 42
  • Gamebirds Galliformes 4 species
    Pheasants and partridges Phasianidae 4

• All other modern birds Neoaves

  Nineteen out of twenty bird species belong here; the group fanned out rapidly after the mass extinction 66 million years ago. 124 species

  • Flamingos and grebes Mirandornithes

    The first branch of Neoaves: two groups that look nothing alike yet are each other's closest relatives. 7 species

    • Flamingos Phoenicopteriformes 2 species
      Flamingos Phoenicopteridae 2
    • Grebes Podicipediformes 5 species
      Grebes Podicipedidae 5

  • Doves, cuckoos and allies Columbaves

    Doves and sandgrouse alongside bustards, turacos and cuckoos. 6 species

    • Doves and sandgrouse Columbimorphae

      In Europe represented only by the pigeons and doves. 5 species

      • Pigeons and doves Columbiformes 5 species
        Pigeons and doves Columbidae 5

    • Bustards, turacos and cuckoos Otidimorphae

      The internal branching of this group differs between studies. 1 species

      • Cuckoos Cuculiformes 1 species
        Cuckoos Cuculidae 1

  • Elementaves Elementaves weakly supported

    Newly named in 2024, after birds that excel in earth, air, water and sun. Support for this branch is reasonable but not equally strong in every analysis. 70 species

    • Cranes and waders Gruimorphae weakly supported

      Rails and cranes form one branch with all waders, gulls and terns — plus the hoatzin, the least certain position in the whole tree. 63 species

      • Cranes, rails and allies Gruiformes 8 species
        Rails and crakes Rallidae 7 · Cranes Gruidae 1
      • Waders, gulls and terns Charadriiformes 55 species
        Avocets and stilts Recurvirostridae 2 · Oystercatchers Haematopodidae 1 · Plovers and lapwings Charadriidae 7 · Sandpipers and snipes Scolopacidae 24 · Skuas Stercorariidae 4 · Auks Alcidae 4 · Gulls and terns Laridae 13

    • Nightjars and swifts Strisores

      Aerial insect-eaters with a short bill and a huge gape. 2 species

      • Nightjars Caprimulgiformes 1 species
        Nightjars Caprimulgidae 1
      • Swifts Apodiformes 1 species
        Swifts Apodidae 1

    • Tropicbirds and waterbirds Phaethoquornithes

      The waterside in its broadest sense: from tropicbirds far out at sea to herons in the reeds. 5 species

      • Core waterbirds Aequornithes

        Herons, storks, spoonbills and cormorants; with tropicbirds and sunbittern they form Phaethoquornithes. 5 species

        • Storks Ciconiiformes 1 species
          Storks Ciconiidae 1
        • Gannets and cormorants Suliformes 1 species
          Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae 1
        • Pelicans, herons and ibises Pelecaniformes 3 species
          Herons and bitterns Ardeidae 2 · Ibises and spoonbills Threskiornithidae 1

  • Landbirds Telluraves

    The great branch of raptors, owls, woodpeckers, falcons and passerines. 41 species

    • Raptors, owls, kingfishers and woodpeckers Afroaves

      The branch where diurnal raptors and owls meet the colourful array of kingfishers, bee-eaters and woodpeckers. 18 species

      • Hawks and owls Hieraves weakly supported

        Whether owls really are the sister group of the diurnal raptors is still contested: the genes are almost evenly split. 11 species

        • Birds of prey Accipitriformes 7 species
          Ospreys Pandionidae 1 · Hawks, eagles and kites Accipitridae 6
        • Owls Strigiformes 4 species
          Barn owls Tytonidae 1 · Typical owls Strigidae 3

      • Rollers, kingfishers and woodpeckers Coraciimorphae

        With hoopoes and hornbills branching off first; the rest is called Picodynastornithes. 7 species

        • Hoopoes and hornbills Bucerotiformes 1 species
          Hoopoes Upupidae 1

        • Kingfishers, bee-eaters and woodpeckers Picodynastornithes

          Cavity nesters that excavate their own nest, in a bank or in wood. 6 species

          • Kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers Coraciiformes 2 species
            Kingfishers Alcedinidae 1 · Bee-eaters Meropidae 1
          • Woodpeckers and allies Piciformes 4 species
            Woodpeckers Picidae 4

    • Falcons, parrots and passerines Australaves

      The surprise of the modern tree: falcons belong here, not with the hawks. 23 species

      • Falcons and passerines Eufalconimorphae

        Passerines form the group Psittacopasserae with the parrots; falcons are their closest relatives. 23 species

        • Falcons Falconiformes 2 species
          Falcons Falconidae 2

        • Parrots and passerines Psittacopasserae

          Two groups that each evolved their own form of intelligence: learning to sing and learning to talk. 21 species

          • Passerines Passeriformes 21 species
            Orioles Oriolidae 1 · Shrikes Laniidae 1 · Crows and jays Corvidae 2 · Tits Paridae 2 · Larks Alaudidae 1 · Reed warblers Acrocephalidae 1 · Swallows and martins Hirundinidae 1 · Leaf warblers Phylloscopidae 1 · Sylvia warblers Sylviidae 1 · Wrens Troglodytidae 1 · Starlings Sturnidae 1 · Thrushes Turdidae 1 · Chats and flycatchers Muscicapidae 4 · Finches Fringillidae 2 · Buntings Emberizidae 1

Source of the arrangement: Arrangement and sequence follow the family-level genome tree of the B10K project. Stiller et al. 2024, Nature 629, 851–860 (B10K)

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