Apodiformes

Apodiformes
Temporal range: Late Paleocene to present
A bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), the smallest bird on earth.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Clade: Daedalornithes
Order: Apodiformes
Peters, 1940
Families
Worldwide range of the apodiformes.
Synonyms
  • Trochiliformes Wagler, 1830

The Apodiformes /ˈæpədɪfɔːrmz/ is an order, or taxonomic grouping, of birds which traditionally contained three living families—the Apodidae (swifts), the Hemiprocnidae (treeswifts), and the Trochilidae (hummingbirds); however, in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is elevated to the superorder Apodimorphae, in which hummingbirds are separated into a new order, the Trochiliformes. With nearly 450 species identified to date, it is the most diverse order of birds after the Passeriformes (the "perching" birds).