List of birds


This page lists living orders and families of birds. The links below should then lead to family accounts and hence to individual species.
The passerines alone account for well over 5,000 species. In total there are about 10,000 species of birds described worldwide, though one estimate of the real number places it at almost twice that.
Taxonomy is very fluid in the age of DNA analysis, so comments are made where appropriate, and all numbers are approximate. In particular see Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy for a very different classification.

Phylogeny

of modern bird relationships based on Jarvis, E.D. et al. with some clade names after Yuri, T. et al..

[Paleognathae]

The Paleognathae, or "old jaws", are one of the two superorders recognized within the taxonomic class Aves and consist of the ratites and tinamous. The ratites are mostly large and long-legged, flightless birds, lacking a keeled sternum. Traditionally, all the ratites were place in the order Struthioniformes. However, recent genetic analysis has found that the group is not monophyletic, as it is paraphyletic with respect to the tinamous, so the ostriches are classified as the only members of the order Struthioniformes and other rattites placed in other orders.

[Struthioniformes]

Africa; 2 species

[Rheiformes]

South America; 2 species
Australasia; 4 species
Australasia; 5 species
Madagascar
New Zealand
South America; 45 species
Nearly all living birds belong to the superorder Neognathae or "new jaws". With their keeled sternum, unlike the ratites, they are known as carinatae.

[Galloanserae]

[Galliformes]

Worldwide; 250 species
Worldwide; 150 species

[Podicipediformes]

Worldwide; 19 species
Worldwide; 6 species

[Columbiformes]

Worldwide; 300 species
Africa, Europe, Asia; 16 species
Madagascar; 3 species

[Caprimulgiformes]

Worldwide; 500 species

[Cuculiformes]

Worldwide; 126 species
Africa; 23 species
Africa and Eurasia; 27 species

[Opisthocomiformes]

South America; 1 species
Worldwide; 164 species
Worldwide; 350 species

[Eurypygiformes]

Neotropics and New Caledonia; 2 species
Oceanic; 3 species

[Gaviiformes]

North America, Eurasia; 5 species
Antarctic and southern waters; 17 species
Pan-oceanic; 120 species
Worldwide; 19 species
Worldwide; 59 species
Worldwide; 108 species

[Accipitriformes]

Worldwide; 200 species
Worldwide; 130 species
Sub-Saharan Africa; 6 species
Madagascar; 1 species
Sub-Saharan Africa, Americas, Asia; 35 species
Old World, New Guinea; 64 species
Worldwide; 144 species

[Piciformes]

Worldwide except Australasia; 400 species

[Cariamiformes]

South America; 2 species
Worldwide; 60 species
Pan-tropical, southern temperate zones; 330 species
Worldwide; 5,000 species