Belongs within: Coraciimorphae.
Contains: Coracioidea, Alcedines.
The Coraciiformes are a clade of insectivorous or carnivorous birds supported by molecular analysis. Members of this group exhibit syndactyly (fusion) of at least part of the length of the third and fourth toes. This is most developed in the clade Alcediniformes, sometimes treated as distinct from the Coraciiformes sensu stricto (e.g. Mayr 2009).
Representatives include the Meropidae, bee-eaters, which are slender, colourful birds with long, acute, down-curved bills found in warmer regions of the Old World. Members of the genus Nyctyornis differ from Merops in their more rounded wings and lack of an eye-stripe.
<==Coraciiformes
| i. s.: Paracoracias occidentalisKSW17
|--+--Primobucco Brodkorb 1970MM-CW04 [PrimobucconidaeM09]
| | |--*P. mcgrewi Brodkorb 1970M09
| | |--P. frugilegus Mayr, Mourer-Chauviré & Weldig 2004M09
| | `--P. perneri Mayr, Mourer-Chauviré & Weldig 2004M09
| `--+--CoracioideaMM-C00
| `--Eocoracias Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2000 [Eocoraciidae]MM-C00
| `--*E. brachyptera Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2000MM-C00
`--Alcediniformes [Alcedinides]M04
|--Quasisyndactylus Mayr 1998M04
| `--*Q. longibrachis Mayr 1998M02
`--+--AlcedinesM04
`--Meropidae [Meropes, Meropides]M04
|--Nyctyornis Jardine & Selby 1830 [Nyctiornithidae]B94
| |--N. amictusBKB15
| `--N. athertoniJT12
|--MelittophagusFP64
| |--M. bullockoidesFP64
| `--M. bulockiA61
`--Merops Linnaeus 1758M02 (see below for synonymy)
| i. s.: M. aegyptiusS66
| M. cafer Linnaeus 1758L58
| M. cinereus Linnaeus 1758L58
| M. mentalisAP21
| M. nubicoidesJT12
| M. quinticolorW66
| M. radoboyensis (Meyer 1865) (see below for synonymy)M02
| M. revoiliiJT12
| M. savignyiS66
| M. vaillantiiS66
|--+--M. breweriBKB15
| `--+--Meropogon forsteniBKB15
| `--+--M. bullockoidesBKB15
| `--M. bulockiBKB15
`--+--M. boehmiBKB15
`--+--+--+--M. gularisBKB15
| | `--M. muelleriBKB15
| `--+--M. hirundineusBKB15
| `--+--M. pusillusBKB15
| `--+--M. oreobatesBKB15
| `--M. variegatusBKB15
`--+--M. albicollisBKB15
`--+--M. malimbicusBKB15
`--+--M. nubicusBKB15
`--+--+--M. orientalisBKB15
| `--+--M. leschenaultiBKB15
| `--M. viridis Linnaeus 1758BKB15, L58
| |--M. v. viridisW66
| `--M. v. ferrugiceps Hodgson 1844W66
`--+--+--M. apiaster Linnaeus 1758BKB15, L58
| `--M. ornatus Latham 1901BKB15, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
`--+--M. philippinusBKB15
`--+--M. persicusBKB15
`--M. superciliosusBKB15
Merops Linnaeus 1758M02 [incl. Apiaster Brisson 1760B94, Melittotheres Boie 1828B94, Phlotrus Reichenbach 1852B94; Apiasteridae, Apiastriidae, Melittotheridae, Phlotridae]
Merops ornatus Latham 1901BKB15, WS48 [incl. M. ornatus shortridgei Mathews 1912WS48]
Merops radoboyensis (Meyer 1865) [=Fringilla radoboyensis, Batrachites radoboyensis ms, Pelophilus radoboyensis ms]M02
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AP21] Arlott, N., & B. van Perlo. 2021. Collins Birds of the World. William Collins.
[A61] Austin, O. L., Jr. 1961. Birds of the World: A survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families. Paul Hamlyn: London.
[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.
[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.
[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.
[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.
[KSW17] Ksepka, D. T., T. A. Stidham & T. E. Williamson. 2017. Early Paleocene landbird supports rapid phylogenetic and morphological diversification of crown birds after the K–Pg mass extinction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 114 (30): 8047–8052.
[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis revised 10th ed. vol. 1. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.
[M04] Mayr, G. 2004. New specimens of Hassiavis laticauda (Aves: Cypselomorphae) and Quasisyndactylus longibrachis (Aves: Alcediniformes) from the Middle Eocene of Messel, Germany. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 252: 23–28.
[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.
[MM-C00] Mayr, G., & C. Mourer-Chauviré. 2000. Rollers (Aves: Coraciiformes s.s.) from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Germany) and the Upper Eocene of Quercy (France). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20 (3): 533–546.
[MM-CW04] Mayr, G., C. Mourer-Chauviré & I. Weidig. 2004. Osteology and systematic position of the Eocene Primobucconidae (Aves, Coraciiformes sensu stricto), with first records from Europe. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 2: 1–12.
[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.
[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.
[W66] Walden, A. 1866. Notes on birds collected in Tennasserim and in the Andaman Islands. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 537–556.
[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.