Bird Families of the World (Traditional)
This page lists all 28 of the bird Orders found in the world, and 82 Families within the large Order Passeriformes, together with an indication of the number of species occurring in each, and the number of species which have occurred in Britain. There is some disgreement between authorities over the total number of species, and their placement into different Families and Orders (and the order in which they evolved and so are presented in a list). For example:
| Morony et al. (1975) | 8,982 | species in | 158 | Families | |
| Monroe & Sibley (1993) | 9,702 | 145 | |||
| Clements (2000) | 9,716 | 204 | |||
| Dickinson (2003) | 9,721 | 195 | |||
| Perrins (2003) | 9,845 | 172 |
The following table gives the number of species occurring in each order (or family within the large Passeriformes order) and the number recorded in Britain. For those families that have representatives in Britain (either regularly or as wanderers) click on the link to see more details. Note for non-passerine orders that only families that have occurred in Britain are listed. The more traditional arrangement here comes from Perrins (2003) and is largely based on morphological characteristics.
For a up-to-date arrangement based largely on DNA evidence, click here and see this page for some insight into why the position of species changes. The Taxonomy in Flux website also provides much useful information.
Order |
Families |
Species |
in Britain |
|
| Superorder Palaeognathae | ||||
| Struthioniformes | 1 | 1 | 0 | Ostrich |
| Rheiformes | 1 | 2 | 0 | Rheas |
| Casuariiformes | 2 | 4 | 0 | Emu and Cassowaries |
| Apterygiformes | 1 | 3 | 0 | Kiwis |
| Tinamiformes | 1 | 46 | 0 | Tinamous |
| Superorder Neognathae | ||||
| Sphenisciformes | 1 | 17 | 0 | Penguins |
| Gaviiformes | 1 | 5 | 5 | Divers |
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| Podicipediformes | 1 | 22 | 6 | Grebes |
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| Procellariformes | 4 | 125 | 18 | Albatrosses and Petrels |
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| Pelecaniformes | 6 | 65 | 7 | Pelicans and relatives |
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| Ciconiiformes | 6 | 117 | 18 | Herons, Storks and relatives |
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| Anseriformes | 2 | 165 | 58 | Waterfowl |
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| Accipitriformes | 5 | 300 | 27 | Vultures, Hawks and Falcons |
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| Galliformes | 6 | 285 | 10 | Gamebirds |
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| Gruiformes | 11 | 203 | 16 | Cranes, Rails and relatives |
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| Charadriiformes | 18 | 342 | 135 | Shorebirds |
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| Pteroclidiformes | 1 | 16 | 1 | Sandgrouse |
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| Columbiformes | 1 | 309 | 7 | Pigeons and Doves |
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| Psittaciformes | 1 | 356 | 1 | Parrots |
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| Cuculiformes | 3 | 164 | 4 | Cuckoos and relatives |
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| Strigiformes | 2 | 205 | 9 | Owls |
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| Caprimulgiformes | 5 | 118 | 4 | Nightjars and relatives |
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| Apodiformes | 3 | 424 | 7 | Swifts and Hummingbirds |
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| Trogoniformes | 1 | 37 | 0 | Trogons |
| Coliiformes | 1 | 6 | 0 | Mousebirds |
| Coraciiformes | 9 | 206 | 6 | Kingfishers and relatives |
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| Piciformes | 6 | 403 | 5 | Woodpeckers, Toucans and relatives |
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| Passeriformes | 82 | 5,899 | 247 | Perching Birds (see below) |
| Suborder Tyranni | ||||
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2 | 0 | New Zealand Wrens | |
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32 | 0 | Pittas | |
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4 | 0 | Asities | |
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15 | 8 | Broadbills | |
| 436 | 1 | Tyrant Flycatchers | ||
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94 | 0 | Cotingas | |
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50 | 0 | Manakins | |
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217 | 0 | Ovenbirds | |
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52 | 0 | Woodcreepers | |
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204 | 0 | Antbirds | |
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62 | 0 | Ground Antbirds | |
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8 | 0 | Gnateaters | |
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55 | 0 | Tapaculos | |
| Suborder Passeres | ||||
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7 | 0 | Australasian Treecreepers | |
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2 | 0 | Lyrebirds | |
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2 | 0 | Australian Scrub-birds | |
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20 | 0 | Bowerbirds | |
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27 | 0 | Fairy-wrens | |
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182 | 0 | Honeyeaters and Australian Chats | |
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67 | 0 | Australian Warblers | |
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44 | 0 | Australasian Robins | |
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16 | 0 | Log-runners | |
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5 | 0 | Australasian Babblers | |
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62 | 0 | Whistlers | |
| 52 | 3 | Vireos | ||
| 118 | 9 | Crows | ||
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42 | 0 | Birds of Paradise | |
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11 | 0 | Wood Swallows | |
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2 | 0 | Magpie-larks | |
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2 | 0 | Australian Mud-nesters | |
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14 | 0 | Australian Butcher-birds | |
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3 | 0 | New Zealand Wattlebirds | |
| 28 | 1 | Old World Orioles | ||
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85 | 0 | Cuckoo-shrikes | |
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42 | 0 | Fantail Flycatchers | |
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24 | 0 | Drongos | |
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98 | 0 | Monarch Flycatchers | |
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10 | 0 | Leafbirds | |
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4 | 0 | Ioras | |
| 30 | 7 | Shrikes | ||
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8 | 0 | Helmet-Shrikes | |
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46 | 0 | Bush-shrikes | |
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41 | 0 | Vanga Shrikes | |
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4 | 0 | Rockfowl | |
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1 | 0 | Palmchat | |
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1 | 0 | Grey Hypocolius | |
| 7 | 2 | Waxwings | ||
| 5 | 1 | Dippers | ||
| 304 | 44 | Thrushes & Chats | ||
| 115 | 6 | Old World Flycatchers | ||
| 114 | 2 | Starlings and Mynas | ||
| 36 | 3 | Mockingbirds | ||
| 25 | 2 | Nuthatches | ||
| 6 | 2 | Treecreepers | ||
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3 | 0 | Phillipine Rhabdornises | |
| 83 | 1 | Wrens | ||
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14 | 0 | Gnatcatchers | |
| 13 | 1 | Penduline Tits | ||
| 53 | 6 | Tits and Chickadees | ||
| 7 | 1 | Long-tailed Tits | ||
| 89 | 7 | Swallows and Martins | ||
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140 | 0 | Bulbuls | |
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88 | 0 | White-eyes | |
| 389 | 50 | Old World Warblers | ||
| 6 | 2 | Kinglets | ||
| 285 | 1 | Babblers and Laughing-thrushes | ||
| 80 | 10 | Larks | ||
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55 | 0 | Flowerpeckers | |
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132 | 0 | Sunbirds and relatives | |
| 36 | 4 | Sparrows | ||
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118 | 0 | Weavers | |
| 67 | 15 | Wagtails and Pipits | ||
| 13 | 2 | Accentors | ||
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156 | 0 | Waxbills | |
| 3 | 2 | Chaffinches | ||
| 136 | 19 | Finches | ||
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22 | 0 | Hawaiian Honeycreepers | |
| 291 | 24 | Buntings and New World Sparrows | ||
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43 | 2 | Cardinal Grosbeaks | |
| 116 | 18 | New World Warblers | ||
| 413 | 2 | Tanagers | ||
| 102 | 3 | New World Blackbirds | ||
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172 | 9845 | 603 | |
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