Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes () is represented by the extant family Falconidae (falcons and caracaras) and a handful of enigmatic Paleogene species. Traditionally, most other diurnal bird of prey families Cathartidae (New World vultures and condors), Sagittariidae (secretarybird), Pandionidae (ospreys), and Accipitridae (hawks) were classified in Falconiformes. A variety of comparative genome analyses published since 2008, however, found that falcons are part of a clade of birds called Australaves, which also includes seriemas, parrots and passerines. Within Australaves falcons are more closely rel

Masillaraptor is an extinct genus of masillaraptorid falconiforms. It is a long-legged relative of the living falcons. The genus contains two species: M. parvunguis, named in 2006 from the Messel pit (Middle Eocene) of Germany, and M. buchheimi, named in 2025 from the Green River Formation (Early Eocene) of Wyoming, United States.