Vorstman's Guide to the Birds of North Africa and the Middle East

The tree works down 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.

Collapse all

• Birds Aves

  739 species

  • Ratites and tinamous Palaeognathae

    The oldest branch of modern birds, standing opposite all other birds together. In North Africa represented by the ostrich. 1 species

    • Ostriches Struthioniformes 1 species
      Ostriches Struthionidae 1

  • Birds with a flexible palate Neognathae

    738 species

    • Fowl Galloanserae

      With the gamebirds, the oldest branch of modern birds apart from the ratites. 53 species

      • Waterfowl Anseriformes 41 species
        Ducks, geese and swans Anatidae 41
      • Gamebirds Galliformes 12 species
        Guineafowl Numididae 1Pheasants and partridges Phasianidae 11

    • 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. 685 species

      • Flamingos and grebes Mirandornithes

        The first branch of Neoaves: two groups that look nothing alike yet are each other's closest relatives; in this guide represented only by the flamingos. 7 species

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

      • Doves, turacos and allies Columbaves

        Doves and sandgrouse alongside bustards, turacos and cuckoos. 33 species

        • Bustards, turacos and cuckoos Otidimorphae

          The turacos stand opposite bustards and cuckoos together; the branches follow one another so closely that their order differs between studies. 13 species

          • Bustards Otidiformes 5 species
            Bustards Otididae 5
          • Cuckoos Cuculiformes 8 species
            Cuckoos Cuculidae 8

        • Doves and sandgrouse Columbimorphae

          Sandgrouse of the dry plains alongside the pigeons and doves; two groups that are each other's closest relatives. 20 species

          • Sandgrouse Pterocliformes 6 species
            Sandgrouse Pteroclidae 6
          • Pigeons and doves Columbiformes 14 species
            Pigeons and doves Columbidae 14

      • Birds of the elements Elementaves

        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. 217 species

        • Cranes and waders Gruimorphae

          Rails and cranes form one branch with all waders, gulls and terns — plus the hoatzin, the least certain position in the whole tree. 135 species

          • Cranes, rails and allies Gruiformes 14 species
            Cranes Gruidae 2Rails and crakes Rallidae 12
          • Waders, gulls and terns Charadriiformes 121 species
            Stone-curlews Burhinidae 4Avocets and stilts Recurvirostridae 2Oystercatchers Haematopodidae 1Plovers and lapwings Charadriidae 17Painted-snipes Rostratulidae 1Jacanas Jacanidae 1Sandpipers and snipes Scolopacidae 38Buttonquails Turnicidae 1Crab Plover Dromadidae 1Pratincoles and coursers Glareolidae 5Skuas Stercorariidae 5Auks Alcidae 3Gulls and terns Laridae 42

        • Tropicbirds and waterbirds Phaethoquornithes

          The waterside in its broadest sense: from tropicbirds far out at sea to herons in the reeds. 66 species

          • Tropicbirds and sunbittern Phaethontimorphae

            A small, ancient branch; the study could not rule out that it belongs elsewhere in the tree. 2 species

            • Tropicbirds Phaethontiformes 2 species
              Tropicbirds Phaethontidae 2

          • Core waterbirds Aequornithes

            Penguins, storks, cormorants and herons; with tropicbirds and sunbittern they form Phaethoquornithes. 64 species

            • Divers Gaviiformes 4 species
              Divers Gaviidae 4
            • Tubenoses Procellariiformes 18 species
              Southern storm petrels Oceanitidae 2Northern storm petrels Hydrobatidae 4Petrels and shearwaters Procellariidae 12
            • Storks Ciconiiformes 5 species
              Storks Ciconiidae 5
            • Gannets and cormorants Suliformes 10 species
              Gannets Sulidae 5Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae 5
            • Pelicans, herons and ibises Pelecaniformes 27 species
              Ibises and spoonbills Threskiornithidae 5Hamerkop Scopidae 1Pelicans Pelecanidae 3Herons and bitterns Ardeidae 18

        • Nightjars and swifts Strisores

          Aerial insect-eaters with a short bill and a huge gape. 16 species

          • Nightjars Caprimulgiformes 8 species
            Nightjars Caprimulgidae 8
          • Swifts Apodiformes 8 species
            Swifts Apodidae 8

      • Landbirds Telluraves

        The great branch of raptors, owls, woodpeckers, falcons and passerines. 428 species

        • Raptors, owls, kingfishers and woodpeckers Afroaves

          The branch where diurnal raptors and owls meet the colourful array of mousebirds, trogons, hornbills and woodpeckers. 82 species

          • Hawks and owls Hieraves

            Whether owls really are the sister group of the diurnal raptors is still contested: the genes are almost evenly split. 56 species

            • Owls Strigiformes 15 species
              Barn owls Tytonidae 1Typical owls Strigidae 14
            • Birds of prey Accipitriformes 41 species
              Ospreys Pandionidae 1Hawks, eagles and kites Accipitridae 40

          • Mousebirds, rollers and woodpeckers Coraciimorphae

            The mousebirds, the only bird order confined to Africa, form the first branch; the rest is called Cavitaves. 26 species

            • Mousebirds Coliiformes 1 species
              Mousebirds Coliidae 1

            • Trogons and cavity nesters Cavitaves

              Nearly all birds of this branch nest in a cavity, in a tree or in a bank; the trogons branch off first. 25 species

              • Hornbills, kingfishers and woodpeckers Picocoraciae

                With hoopoes and hornbills branching off first; the rest is called Picodynastornithes. 25 species

                • Hoopoes and hornbills Bucerotiformes 2 species
                  Hoopoes Upupidae 1Hornbills Bucerotidae 1

                • Kingfishers, bee-eaters and woodpeckers Picodynastornithes

                  Cavity nesters that excavate their own nest, in a bank or in wood. 23 species

                  • Kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers Coraciiformes 16 species
                    Rollers Coraciidae 4Bee-eaters Meropidae 6Kingfishers Alcedinidae 6
                  • Woodpeckers and allies Piciformes 7 species
                    Woodpeckers Picidae 7

        • Falcons, parrots and passerines Australaves

          The surprise of the modern tree: falcons belong here, not with the hawks. 346 species

          • Falcons and passerines Eufalconimorphae

            The falcons branch off first; parrots and passerines remain together as Psittacopasserae. 346 species

            • Falcons Falconiformes 11 species
              Falcons Falconidae 11

            • Parrots and passerines Psittacopasserae

              Two groups with each their own form of intelligence: learning to sing and learning to talk. 335 species

              • Parrots Psittaciformes 3 species
                Parrots Psittacidae 1Old World parakeets Psittaculidae 2
              • Passerines Passeriformes 332 species
                Bushshrikes Malaconotidae 1Orioles Oriolidae 1Drongos Dicruridae 2Monarch flycatchers Monarchidae 2Shrikes Laniidae 11Crows and jays Corvidae 14Penduline tits Remizidae 1Tits Paridae 5Bearded reedlings Panuridae 1Larks Alaudidae 21Cisticolas Cisticolidae 6Reed warblers Acrocephalidae 17Grasshopper warblers Locustellidae 3Swallows and martins Hirundinidae 12Long-tailed tits Aegithalidae 1Bush warblers Cettiidae 2Leaf warblers Phylloscopidae 15Bulbuls Pycnonotidae 4Sylvia warblers Sylviidae 23White-eyes Zosteropidae 3Laughingthrushes Leiothrichidae 4Hypocolius Hypocoliidae 1Kinglets Regulidae 2Wallcreepers Tichodromidae 1Nuthatches Sittidae 4Treecreepers Certhiidae 1Wrens Troglodytidae 1Starlings Sturnidae 13Dippers Cinclidae 1Thrushes Turdidae 10Chats and flycatchers Muscicapidae 49Sunbirds Nectariniidae 7Weavers Ploceidae 5Indigobirds and whydahs Viduidae 1Waxbills Estrildidae 7Accentors Prunellidae 3Sparrows Passeridae 14Wagtails and pipits Motacillidae 19Finches Fringillidae 24Longspurs and snow buntings Calcariidae 1Buntings Emberizidae 19

Source of the arrangement: The arrangement and sequence of orders, families, genera and species follow AviList; the clades above them follow the family-level genome tree of the B10K project and carry names from the PhyloCode. AviList v2025b · Stiller et al. 2024, Nature 629, 851-860 (B10K)

See all species →