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Different Classes of Birds

There is only one class of birds: aves. However, birds can be grouped into many different orders, families, genera and species, as well as classifications sych as infraorders, suborders, subspecies and tribes. There are subclasses, including archaeornithes, which means "ancient birds," containing only the archaeopteryx and the odontornithes, a group of "toothed birds" that are extinct.

Class
- The snowy owl is in the family strigidae.
  
  Animals are classified in groups of decreasing diversity. Class is the level after phylum and kingdom. Birds belong to the animalia kingdom because they're animals and the chordata phylum because they have backbones. They're in the aves class because they are birds. The classification depends on the type of bird.
Order
- The scarket macaw is in the subfamily psittacinae.
  
  An order contains one or more families. Some orders of birds are strigiformes, which are owls; passeriformes (passerines, or songbirds); falconiformes (falcons, eagles and hawks); columbiformes (doves and pigeons); psittaciformes (parrots, cockatoos, cockatiels, parakeets and budgies); and apodiformes (swifts and hummingbirds).
Family
- The bald eagle is in the genus haliaeetus.
  
  A family contains one or more genera. Some families of birds are procellariidae, which are some petrels, fulmars and shearwaters; anatidae (ducks such as the Harlequin duck, the black scoter, the king eider, the canvasback, the northern pintail, the wood duck, the mallard and the mandarin duck); and phasianidae (pheasants such as the common pheasant, the Impeyan monal, the gray peacock pheasant, the red jungleflowl, the chukar and the black francolin). Laridae include the mew gull, the Pacific gull, the ring-billed gull, the herring gull, the laughing gull and various terns and kittiwakes.
Genus
- The American robin is in the species turdus migratorius.
  
  A genus contains one or more species. Accipter are goshawks and sparrowhawks such as the northern goshawk and the sharp shinned hawk. Aquila are true eagles such as the golden eagle and the tawny eagle; basileuerus, parula and dendroica are three genera of New World warblers; colaptes includes woodpeckers such as the flicker; emeus, whose sole representative was the extinct eastern moa; mimus, which contains mockingbirds such as the northern mockingbird; and troglodytes, which are wrens.
Species
- A species is a group that can interbreed and produce viable fertile offspring. The sitta are nuthatches; melanerpes are woodpeckers; vireos are vireos; icterus are orioles; carduelis are siskins, goldfinches, greenfinches, redpolls and linnets; cyanocitta are the blue jay and the Steller's jay; columba are the rock dove, the speckled pigeon and the common wood pigeon.

Nature