Australaves

Australaves is a clade of birds,^[3] defined in 2012,^[4] consisting of the Eufalconimorphae (passerines, parrots and falcons) as well as the Cariamiformes (including seriemas and the extinct "terror birds").^[5] They appear to be the sister group of Afroaves.^[5] This clade was defined in the PhyloCode by George Sangster and colleagues in 2022 as "the least inclusive crown clade containing Cariama cristata and Passer domesticus".^[6]

Australaves Temporal range: Early Eocene - Holocene, 54–0 Ma[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Possibly an earlier origin based on molecular clock[2]
Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Telluraves
Clade:	Australaves Ericson, 2012
Clades
Cariamiformes Eufalconimorphae

The clade's name, meaning 'southern birds', reflects the group's evolutionary origins in the Southern Hemisphere: passerines and parrots in Australia, and falcons and seriemas in South America.^[4]

As in the case of Afroaves, the most basal clades have predatory extant members, suggesting this was the ancestral lifestyle;^[7] however, some researchers like Darren Naish are skeptical of this assessment, since some extinct representatives such as the herbivorous Strigogyps led other lifestyles.^[8] Basal parrots and falcons are at any rate vaguely crow-like and probably omnivorous.^[9]

Australaves	Cariamiformes (seriemas) Eufalconimorphae Falconiformes (falcons) Psittacopasserae Psittaciformes (parrots) Passeriformes (songbirds)

Cladogram of Telluraves relationships based on Kuhl et al. (2020) and Braun & Kimball (2021)^[2][10]