|
The diverse order Gruiformes contains about
12 bird families with, on first sight, little in common.
Traditionally, a number of wading and terrestrial bird families that did not seem to belong to any other order were classified
together as Gruiformes. These included the large land-based bustards, the very large
cranes, the relatively small and secretive water-loving crakes and rails, and the small, plump buttonquail (all families with a wide distribution and a dozen or more member species), as well as a variety of
very small families, several of them containing just a single species.
On first sight, the Gruiformes seem to have little in common with one another. They are morphologically diverse and the
relationships between them are obscure. Recent DNA analysis, however, indicates that most Gruiformes are in fact more closely
related to one another than they are to any other birds and the taxonomical revolution of the late 20th century has left the
order surprisingly intact.
DNA work has led to three main changes: buttonquail are now treated as an
independent order (Turniciformes); the unusual Plains Wanderer is now
classed as a charadriiform, and some (but not all) authorities raise
the Rallidae to ordinal status.
References
- Sibley, C. G., and J. Ahlquist. 1990. Phylogeny and classification of birds. Yale University Press, New Haven,
Conn.
- Taxonomic recommendations for British birds. Ibis (2002), 144, 707–710. Alan g. Knox, Martin Collinson, Andreas J.
Helbig, David T. Parkin & George Sangster
|