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Accipitridae
Fossil range: Eocene - Recent
Ornate Hawk EagleSpizaetus ornatus
Ornate Hawk Eagle
Spizaetus ornatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Accipitridae
Vieillot, 1816
Subfamilies

but see text

The Accipitridae is one of the two major families within the order Falconiformes (the diurnal birds of prey). The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in The Ornate Hawk-eagle, Spizaetus ornatus, is a Bird of prey from the Tropical Americas. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 Species of Birds that include the diurnal birds of prey. Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot ( May 10, 1748 - 1831 was a French Ornithologist. Year 1816 ( MDCCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year In Biological classification, family ( Latin The Accipitrinae is the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks including all members of Accipiter and the closely Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes Eagles Buzzards kites and Hawks Old World vultures Buteoninae is a Bird of prey subfamily which consists of medium to large broad-winged Species. Circaetinae is a Bird of prey subfamily which consists of a group of medium to large broad-winged species A Harrier is any of several species of diurnal birds of prey which fly low over meadows and marshes and hunt or harry small animals or birds (hence their common An elanid kite, sometimes white-tailed kite, is any of several small long-winged hovering raptors All are specialist Rodent hunters and most are Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring The raptor subfamily Perninae includes a number of medium-sized broad-winged Species. In Biological classification, family ( Latin This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 Species of Birds that include the diurnal birds of prey. Birds of prey are Birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing using their keen senses especially vision Many well-known birds like hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group. The term hawk can be used in several ways In strict usage in Europe and Asia, to mean any of the Species in the Subfamily Eagles are large birds of prey which are members of the Bird order Falconiformes and family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring A Harrier is any of several species of diurnal birds of prey which fly low over meadows and marshes and hunt or harry small animals or birds (hence their common Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes Eagles Buzzards kites and Hawks Old World vultures Most, but not all, other raptors belong to the Falconidae, or falcon family, which is often considered a distinct order (e. The falcons and caracaras are around 60 Species of diurnal birds of prey that comprise the family Falconidae. g. in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy), in which case the present group would belong to the order Accipitriformes. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a radical bird Taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. In a common way the raptors are classified the order Accipitriformes includes most of the diurnal Birds of prey: Hawks Eagles

The Osprey is usually placed in a separate family (Pandionidae), as is the Secretary bird (Sagittariidae), and the New World vultures are also usually now regarded as a separate family or order. The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus, also called Sea Hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating Bird of prey. The Secretary Bird, Sagittarius serpentarius, is a large mostly terrestrial Bird of prey. The New World vulture family Cathartidae contains seven Species found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. Karyotype data[1] indicated that the accipitrids hitherto analyzed are indeed a distinct monophyletic group, but whether this group should be considered a family of the Falconiformes or one or several order(s) on their own is a matter of taste. A karyotype is the characteristic Chromosome complement of a Eukaryote Species. A clade is a taxonomic group comprising a single Common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor

The accipitrids are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a few feeding on fruit. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described The Accipitridae have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on all the world's continents (except Antarctica) and a number of oceanic island groups. In Biogeography, a Biological category of living things is said to have cosmopolitan distribution if this category can be found almost anywhere around the world Some species are migratory. Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of Birds Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability

Contents

Systematics

The accipitrids have been variously divided into some 5-10 subfamilies. In Biological classification, family ( Latin Most of them share a very similar morphology, but many of these groups contain taxa which are more aberrant. The term morphology in Biology refers to the outward appearance ( Shape, Structure, Colour, Pattern) of an Organism A taxon (plural taxa) or taxonomic unit, is a name designating an organism or a group of Organisms In Biological nomenclature according to These are placed in their respective position more for lack of better evidence than anything else. It is thus not very surprising that the phylogenetic layout of the accipitrids has always been a matter of dispute.

As mentioned above, the accipitrids are recognizable by a peculiar rearrangement of their chromosomes. A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and Protein that is found in cells. Apart from this, morphology and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data gives a confusing picture of these birds' interrelationships. Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. Cytochrome b/b6 is main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the Primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA Molecule What can be said is that the hawks, kites, eagles and Old World vultures as presently assigned in all likelihood do not form monophyletic groups:

According to the molecular data, the Buteoninae are most likely poly- or paraphyletic, with the true eagles, the sea eagles, and the buteonine hawks apparently representing distinct lineages. The term hawk can be used in several ways In strict usage in Europe and Asia, to mean any of the Species in the Subfamily Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring Eagles are large birds of prey which are members of the Bird order Falconiformes and family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes Eagles Buzzards kites and Hawks Old World vultures A clade is a taxonomic group comprising a single Common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor In Phylogenetics, a Taxon is polyphyletic ( Greek for "of many races" if the trait its members have in common evolved separately in different In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all A sea eagle (also called erne or ern) is any of a group of birds of prey in the Genus Haliaeetus in the Bird Buteo ( Etymology: Buteo is the Latin name of the Common Buzzard) is a Genus of medium-sized wide-ranging raptors These appear to form a group with the Milvinae, Accipitrinae and Circinae but the exact relationships between the lineages are not at all robustly resolvable with the present data. Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring The Accipitrinae is the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks including all members of Accipiter and the closely A Harrier is any of several species of diurnal birds of prey which fly low over meadows and marshes and hunt or harry small animals or birds (hence their common The Perninae and possibly the Elaninae are older lineages, as are the Old World vultures. The raptor subfamily Perninae includes a number of medium-sized broad-winged Species. An elanid kite, sometimes white-tailed kite, is any of several small long-winged hovering raptors All are specialist Rodent hunters and most are The latter are fairly likely also poly- or paraphyletic, with some aberrant species like the Bearded and Egyptian Vultures standing apart from the naked-necked "(not so)true" vultures. The Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus ("Bearded Vulture-Eagle" is an Old World vulture, the only member of the genus The Egyptian Vulture ( Neophron percnopterus) is a small Old World vulture, found from southwestern Europe and northern Africa [2]

Morphology

Portrait of a Bald Eagle showing its strongly hooked beak and the cere covering the base of the beak.
Portrait of a Bald Eagle showing its strongly hooked beak and the cere covering the base of the beak. The Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a Bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as the national bird and

The Accipitridae are a diverse family with a great deal of variation in size and shape. They range in size from the tiny Pearl Kite, which is 25 cm in length and weights no more than 100 g, to the Philippine Eagle, which is 1 m in length and which may weight up to 7 kg. The Pearl Kite, Gampsonyx swainsonii, is a very small raptor found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland [3] The Old World vultures may weigh as a much as 12 kg. Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes Eagles Buzzards kites and Hawks Old World vultures Until the 14th century even these were surpassed by the extinct Haast's Eagle of New Zealand, which is estimated to have weighted 14 kg. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. Haast's Eagle ( Harpagornis moorei) was a massive now extinct Eagle that once lived on the South Island of New Zealand. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island [4] Most Accipitridae exhibit sexual dimorphism in size, although unusually for birds it is the females that are larger than the males. Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different Sex in the same Species. [5] This sexual difference in size is more pronounced in active species that hunt birds, and is less pronounced in rodent hunters, and almost non-existent in carrion or snail eaters.

The beaks of accipitrids are strong, hooked (sometimes very hooked, as in the Hook-billed Kite or Snail Kite. Anatomy Stegosaurus --> Beaks can vary significantly in size and shape from species to species The Hook-billed Kite, Chondrohierax uncinatus, is a Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors The Snail Kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis, is a Bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the Eagles In some species there is a notch or 'tooth' in the upper mandible. In all accipitrids the base of the upper mandible is covered by a fleshy membrane called the cere which is usually yellow in colour. The tarsi of different species vary by diet, those of bird hunting species like sparrowhawks are long and thin, while species that hunt large mammals have much thicker, stronger ones, and snake-eagle have thick scales to protect from bites. In Tetrapods the tarsus are the cluster of Bones in the Foot between the Tibia and Fibula and the Metatarsus. Circaetinae is a Bird of prey subfamily which consists of a group of medium to large broad-winged species

The plumage the Accipitridae can be striking but rarely utilises bright colours; most birds use combinations of grey, buff and brown. Plumage refers both to the layer of Feathers that cover a Bird and the pattern colour and arrangement of those feathers [3] Overall they tend to be paler below, this helps them seem more inconspicuous when seen from bellow. There is seldom sexual dimorphism in plumage, when it occurs the males are brighter or the females resemble juveniles. In many species juveniles have a distinctly different plumage. Some accipitrids mimic the plumage patterns of other hawks and eagles. Biological mimicry occurs when a group of organisms the mimics, have They may attempt to resemble a less dangerous species in order to fool prey, or instead resemble a more dangerous species in order to reduce mobbing by other birds. Mobbing behavior is an antipredator behavior which occurs when individuals of a certain species mob a Predator by cooperatively attacking or [6]

Diet and feeding

The Palm-nut Vulture is an unusual frugivorous accipitrid , but will also consume fish, particularly already dead fish.
The Palm-nut Vulture is an unusual frugivorous accipitrid , but will also consume fish, particularly already dead fish. The Palm-nut Vulture ( Gypohierax angolensis) is a very large Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal

Accipitrids are predominately predators and most species actively hunt for their prey. A few species may opportunistically feed on fruit and in one species, the Palm-nut Vulture, it forms the major part of the diet. The Palm-nut Vulture ( Gypohierax angolensis) is a very large Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal [7] However other animals form the bulk of the diet of most species. Insects are taken exclusively by around 12 species, in great numbers by 44 additional species, and opportunistically by many others. The Snail Kite and Hook-billed Kites are specialists in consuming snails. The Snail Kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis, is a Bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the Eagles The Hook-billed Kite, Chondrohierax uncinatus, is a Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors The word snail is a Common name that can be used for almost all members of the Molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells in the Bazas and forest hawks in the genus Accipiter may take reptiles from trees whilst other species hunt them on the ground. UserPolbot. -->The Bazas, Aviceda are a genus of Bird of prey in the Accipitridae family The genus Accipiter is a group of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae, mostly consisting of birds known as Goshawks and Sparrowhawks Snakes in particular are targeted by the snake-eagles (Circaetus) and serpent-eagles (Spilornis and Dryotriorchis). Circaetus, the snake eagles, is a genus of medium-sized Eagles in the Bird of prey family Accipitridae which also includes many UserPolbot. --> Spilornis is a genus of Bird of prey in the Accipitridae family UserPolbot. -->The Congo Serpent-eagle ( Dryotriorchis spectabilis) is a species of Bird of prey in the

Genera

Fossil record

Like with most other birds of prey, the fossil record of this group is fairly decent from the latter Eocene onwards (c. The genus Accipiter is a group of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae, mostly consisting of birds known as Goshawks and Sparrowhawks UserPolbot. -->The Gabar Goshawk ( Melierax gabar) is a species of Bird of prey in the Accipitridae UserPolbot. --> Melierax is a genus of Bird of prey in the Accipitridae family The Long-tailed Hawk ( Urotriorchis macrourus) is a Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors UserPolbot. --> Erythrotriorchis is a genus of Bird of prey in the Accipitridae family Doria's Goshawk, Megatriorchis doriae, is a raptor, the only member of the genus Megatriorchis. Circaetinae is a Bird of prey subfamily which consists of a group of medium to large broad-winged species The Bateleur ( Terathopius ecaudatus) is a medium-sized Eagle in the bird family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors Circaetus, the snake eagles, is a genus of medium-sized Eagles in the Bird of prey family Accipitridae which also includes many UserPolbot. --> Spilornis is a genus of Bird of prey in the Accipitridae family UserPolbot. --> The Madagascar Serpent-eagle, Serpentaire de Madagascar, or Culebrera Azor ( Eutriorchis FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in 35 mya), with modern genera being well documented since the Early Oligocene, or around 30 mya. In Astronomy, Geology, and Paleontology, mya or " mya " is an abbreviation for "million years ago". The Rupelian (also known as Stampian, Tongrian, Latdorfian, Vicksburgian, or Early Oligocene) is the first of two stages

Accipitrids are known since Early Eocene times, or about from 50 mya onwards, in fact, but these early remains are too fragmentary and/or basal to properly assign a place in the phylogeny. The Flexiraptor ( Pengana robertbolesi) is an Extinct species of bird of prey - the only one of its genus known to date - probably related to harriers The Ypresian is the first stage of the Eocene Epoch and usually corresponds to the Early Eocene subepoch though sometimes the Lutetian In Phylogenetics, a basal Clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade it appears at the base of a cladogram Likewise, as remarked above, molecular methods are of limited value in determining evolutionary relationships of and within the accipitrids. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 What can be determined is that in all probability, the group originated on either side of the Atlantic, which during that time was only 60-80% its present width. On the other hand, as evidenced by fossils like Pengana, some 25 mya, accipitrids in all likelihood rapidly acquired a global distribution - initially probably even extending to Antarctica. The Flexiraptor ( Pengana robertbolesi) is an Extinct species of bird of prey - the only one of its genus known to date - probably related to harriers

Specimen AMNH FR 2941, a left coracoid from the Late Eocene Irdin Manha Formation of Chimney Butte (Inner Mongolia) was initially assessed as a basal mid-sized "buteonine"[13]; it is today considered to be more likely to belong in the Gruiformes genus Eogrus[14]. The American Museum of Natural History ( AMNH) located on the Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York, USA is one of the largest and most A coracoid is a paired bone which is part of the shoulder assembly in all Vertebrates except therian mammals (therians = Marsupials and Placentals Inner Mongolia ( Mongolian:, Öbür mongɣul; occasionally romanized to Nei Mongol is the Mongol In Phylogenetics, a basal Clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade it appears at the base of a cladogram The diverse order Gruiformes contains a considerable number of living and extinct Bird families with on first sight little in common

Footnotes

  1. ^ de Boer (1975), Amaral & Jorge (2003), Federico et al. (2005)
  2. ^ Wink et al. (1996)
  3. ^ a b Thiollay (1994)
  4. ^ Brathwaite (1992)
  5. ^ Paton et al (1994)
  6. ^ Negro (2008)
  7. ^ Although not the entire diet. Thomson et al 1957
  8. ^ Specimen AMNH FR 7434: Left carpometacarpus of a Snail Kite-sized bird: Cracraft (1969)
  9. ^ Tarsometatarsus of a bird the size of an Eurasian Sparrowhawk: Smith (2003)
  10. ^ Specimens MNZ S42490, S42811: Distal left tibiotarsus and distal right ulna of a bird the size of a smallish eagle: Worthy et al. The American Museum of Natural History ( AMNH) located on the Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York, USA is one of the largest and most The Snail Kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis, is a Bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the Eagles The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is found in the lower leg of certain Tetrapods namely Birds It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types The Eurasian Sparrowhawk ( Accipiter nisus) is a small Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes many other diurnal raptors such The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national Museum of New Zealand. In fields of Anatomy, anatomical terms of location are descriptive terms to help identify relative positions or directions within a species The tibiotarsus is the large Bone between the Femur and the Tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird The ulna ( elbow bone) is a long bone prismatic in form placed at the medial side of the Forearm, parallel with the radius. (2007)
  11. ^ Distal tibia quite similar to Harris's Hawk: Miller (1931)
  12. ^ Alcover (1989)
  13. ^ Wetmore (1934)
  14. ^ AMNH (2007)

References

External links

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