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Accipitridae

Heather R. L. Lerner and David P. Mindell
Bald eagle draws wings back as it comes into the nest for a landing
taxon links [down<--]Falconiformes Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Monophyly Uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Phylogenetic position of group is uncertain Interpreting the tree
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This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

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You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.

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Containing group: Falconiformes

References

Lerner, H. R. and D. P. Mindell. 2005. Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37:327-346.

Helbig, A. J., A. Kocum, I. Seibold, M. J. Braun. 2005. A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35:147-164.

Title Illustrations
Bald eagle draws wings back as it comes into the nest for a landing view larger version of image
Scientific Name Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Location Kodiak Island, Alaska, USA
Comments Bald eagle
Creator Dave Menke
Acknowledgements Photo courtesy U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Behavior draws wings back as it comes into the nest for a landing
view larger version of image
Scientific Name Torgos tracheliotus
Location Masai Mara, Kenya
Comments Lappetfaced (Nubian) vultures
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Behavior one leaping at the other (talons first) near a carcass
Copyright © Greg and Marybeth Dimijian
view larger version of image
Scientific Name Terathopius ecaudatus
Location captive animal at Davey home in Athi River, Kenya
Comments Bateleur Eagle
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Body Part head and upper body
Copyright © Greg and Marybeth Dimijian
About This Page

Heather R. L. Lerner
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

David P. Mindell
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Heather R. L. Lerner at and David P. Mindell at

Citing this page:

Lerner, Heather R. L. and Mindell, David P. 2006. Accipitridae. Version 09 May 2006 (temporary). http://tolweb.org/Accipitridae/26375/2006.05.09 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org

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This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

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