The superorder Accipitrimorphae is represented only by the order Accipitriformes, which contains the following families: 

• Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, Kites, Harriers, New World Vultures) 
• Pandionidae (Osprey)
• Sagittariidae (Secretarybird)
• Cathartidae (New World Vultures)

Family-level timetree of the family-level relationships within extant Accipitriformes based on Kuhl et al. (2021), with the distribution of each taxon being indicated by the colour-code used throughout this website (see Distribution code).  

The genus-level phylogeny of Accipitriformes is shown in the following timetree: 

Genus-level timetree of extant accipitrid subfamilies Accipitrinae and Buteoninae based on Mindell et al. (2018), with the distribution of each taxon being indicated by the colour-code used throughout this website (see Distribution code). 

References/Literature

do Amaral FSR, Miller MJ, Silveira LF, Bermingham E, and Wajntal A (2006), Polyphyly of the hawk genera Leucopternis and Buteogallus (Aves, Accipitridae): multiple habitat shifts during the Neotropical buteonine diversification. BMC Evol. Biol. 6:10. (pdf)

do Amaral FSR, Sheldon FH, Gamauf A, Haring E, Riesing M, Silveira LF, and Wajntal A (2009), Patterns and processes of diversification in a widespread and ecologically diverse avian group, the buteonine hawks (Aves, Accipitridae). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 53, 703-715. (abstract)

Barrowclough GF, Groth JG, Lai JE, and Tsang SM (2014), The phylogenetic relationships of the endemic genera of Australo-Papuan hawks, J. Raptor Res. 48, 36-43. (pdf)

Breman FC, Jordaens K, Sonet G, Nagy ZT, Van Houdt J, and Louette M (2013), DNA barcoding and evolutionary relationships in Accipiter Brisson, 1760 (Aves, Falconiformes: Accipitridae) with a focus on African and Eurasian representatives, J. Ornithol. 154, 265-287. (abstract)

Johnson JA, Brown JW, Fuchs J, and Mindell DP (2016), Multi-locus phylogenetic inference among New World vultures (Aves: Cathartidae), Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 105, 193-199. (abstract)

Kuhl H, Frankl-Vilches C, Bakker A, Mayr G, Nikolaus G, Boerno ST, Klages S, Timmermann B, and Gahr M (2021), An unbiased molecular approach using 3'UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life, Mol. Biol. Evol. 38, 108-127. (pdf)

Lerner HRL, Klaver MC, and Mindell DP (2008), Molecular phylogenetics of the buteonine birds of prey (Accipitridae), The Auk 125, 304-315. (abstract)

Lerner H, Christidis L, Gamauf A, Griffiths C, Haring E, Huddleston CJ, Kabra S, Kocum A, Krosby M, Kvaløy K, Mindell D, Rasmussen P, Røv N, Wadleigh R, Wink M, and Gjershaug JO (2017), Phylogeny and new taxonomy of the Booted Eagles (Accipitriformes: Aquilinae), Zootaxa 4216, 301-320. (pdf)

Mindell DP, Fuchs J, and Johnson JA (2018), Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes, In: Sarasola, J.H. et al., Birds of prey, Chapter 1, 3-32. Springer. (abstract)

Nagy J, and Tökölyi J (2014), Phylogeny, historical biogeography and the evolution of migration in accipitrid birds of prey (Aves: Accipitriformes), Ornis hungarica 22, 15-35. (pdf)

Oatley G, Simmons RE, and Fuchs J (2015), A molecular phylogeny of the harriers (Circus, Accipitridae) indicate the role of long distance dispersal and migration in diversification, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 85, 150-160.

 (abstract)

Sangster G, and Luksenburg JA (2021), Scientific data laundering: chimeric mitogenomes of a sparrowhawk and a nightjar covered-up by forged phylogenies. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 96:104263. (abstract) 

Sangster G, Kirwan GM, Fuchs J, Dickinson EC, Elliott A, and Gregory SMS (2021), A new genus for the tiny hawk Accipiter superciliosus and semicollared hawk A. collaris (Aves: Accipitridae), with comments on the generic name for the crested goshawk A. trivirgatus and Sulawesi goshawk A. griseiceps, Vertebr. Zool. 71, 419-424. (pdf)

Starikov, IJ, and Wink M (2020), Old and cosmopolite: molecular phylogeny of tropical-subtropical kites (Aves: Elaninae) with taxonomic implications, Diversity 12:327. (pdf)

Urantówka AD, Kroczak A, Strzala T, Zaniewicz G, Kurkowski M, and Mackiewicz P (2021), Mitogenomes of Accipitriformes and Cathartiformes were subjected to ancestral and recent duplications followed by gradual degradation, Genome Biol. Evol. 13, e:evab193. (pdf)