Owl Judging from this, the Late Miocene remains from France described as ""Ardea" aureliensis" should also be restudied. The Messelasturidae, some of which were initially believed to be basal Strigiformes, are now generally accepted to be diurnal birds of prey showing some convergent evolution towards owls. The taxa often united under "Strigogyps" were formerly placed in part with the owls, specifically the Sophiornithidae; they appear to be Ameghinornithidae instead. For fossil species and paleosubspecies of extant taxa, see the genus and species articles. Unresolved and basal forms (all fossil) Fossil genera Placement unresolved Extinct Genus Fossil genera Placement unresolved Among the
Phedina de Bourbon (Réunion), and that for Brazza's martin commemorates Italian-born French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, later to become governor-general of the French Congo, who collected the type specimen. The "Phedina" species are members of the swallow family of birds, and are classed as members of the Hirundininae subfamily, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. DNA sequence studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. These groups are the "core martins", including burrowing species like the sand martin; the "nest-adopters", which are birds