The Order Suliformes is a proposed order by the International Ornithologist's Union

International Ornithological Congress

The International Ornithological Congress series forms the oldest and largest international series of meetings of ornithologists. It is organised by the International Ornithological Committee, a group of about 200 ornithologists...

. In regards to the recent evidence that the traditional Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

 is paraphyletic, it has been suggested that the group be split up to reflect the true evolutionary relationships.

Systematics and evolution

Of the remaining families in Pelecaniformes, only Pelecanidae, Balaenicipitidae, and Scopidae remain. The tropicbird family Phaethontidae has since been moved to their own order Phaethontiformes. Genetic analysis seems to show that the Pelecaniformes is actually closely related to the Ardeidae and Threskiornithidae

Threskiornithidae

The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...

. As for the Suliformes, they seem to be only distantly related to the current Pelecaniformes. According to the Hackett Taxonomy, loons, penguins, storks

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

, and as well as Suliformes and Pelecaniformes, all seem to have evolved from a common ancestor. The proposed waterbird

Higher waterbird

The higher waterbirds or waterbird assemblage are a hypothetical clade of aquatic birds. Gerald Mayr proposed the scientific name Aequornithes and defined this clade as "the least inclusive clade containing Gaviidae and Phalacrocoracidae"...

 superorder has been suggested.

Species

• Fregatidae
  • Magnificent Frigatebird
    Magnificent Frigatebird
    The Magnificent Frigatebird was sometimes previously known as Man O'War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds....
    
     or Man O'War, Fregata magnificens.
  • Ascension Frigatebird
    Ascension Frigatebird
    The Ascension Frigatebird breeds only on the tiny Boatswain Bird Island just off Ascension Island in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It formerly bred on the larger island, but was exterminated by introduced cats, Brown Rats, and human persecution.It breeds on the rocky slopes of Boatswainbird...
    
    , Fregata aquila.
  • Christmas Island Frigatebird
    Christmas Island Frigatebird
    The Christmas Frigatebird or Christmas Island Frigatebird is a frigatebird endemic to the Christmas Islands in the Indian Ocean...
    
    , Fregata andrewsi.
  • Great Frigatebird
    Great Frigatebird
    The Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
    
    , Fregata minor.
  • Lesser Frigatebird
    Lesser Frigatebird
    The Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....
    
    , Fregata ariel.

• Sulidae
  Sulidae
  The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...
  
  
  • Blue-footed Booby
    Blue-footed Booby
    The Blue-footed Booby is a bird in the Sulidae family which comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.- Etymology :The name booby...
    
    , Sula nebouxii
  • Peruvian Booby
    Peruvian Booby
    The Peruvian Booby, Sula variegata, is an endemic bird of the Peruvian current whose distribution is restricted to the west coast of South America from Punta Pariñas in Peru to Concepción in Chile . It is the second most abundant seabird species that inhabits the Peruvian Coast and the second...
    
    , Sula variegata
  • Masked Booby
    Masked Booby
    The Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...
    
    , Sula dactylatra
  • Nazca Booby
    Nazca Booby
    The Nazca Booby, Sula granti, is a booby which is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, namely on the Galápagos Islands where it can be seen by eco-tourists, and on Clipperton Island...
    
    , Sula granti
  • Red-footed Booby
    Red-footed Booby
    The Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...
    
    , Sula sula
  • Brown Booby
    Brown Booby
    The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
    
    , Sula leucogaster
  • Abbott's Booby
    Abbott's Booby
    Abbott’s Booby is a large endangered seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Found normally only on and around Christmas Island Abbott’s Booby (Papasula abbotti) is a large endangered seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Found normally only on and around Christmas Island Abbott’s Booby (Papasula...
    
    , Papasula abbotti
  • Northern Gannet
    Northern Gannet
    The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
    
    , (also known as "Solan Goose"), Morus bassanus
  • Cape Gannet
    Cape Gannet
    The Cape Gannet, Morus capensis, originally Sula capensis, is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae.They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck...
    
    , Morus capensis
  • Australasian Gannet, Morus serrator

• Phalacrocoracidae
  • Double-crested Cormorant
    Double-crested Cormorant
    The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico...
    
     or White-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus
  • Neotropic Cormorant
    Neotropic Cormorant
    The Neotropic Cormorant or Olivaceous Cormorant is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the USA south through Mexico and Central America to southern South America. It also breeds on the...
    
     or Olivaceous Cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus (or Phalacrocorax olivaceus)
  • Little Black Cormorant
    Little Black Cormorant
    The Little Black Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand. It is around sixty centimetres long, and is all black with blue-green eyes.-References: Database entry includes...
    
    , Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
  • Great Cormorant
    Great Cormorant
    The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
    
     or Black Shag, Phalacrocorax carbo
  • White-breasted Cormorant
    White-breasted Cormorant
    The White-breasted Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the Great Cormorant, in which case it is referred to as Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus. However some authorities The White-breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus) is a...
    
    , Phalacrocorax lucidus
  • Indian Cormorant
    Indian Cormorant
    The Indian Cormorant or Indian Shag is a member of the cormorant family. It is found mainly along the inland waters of the Indian Subcontinent but extending west to Sind and east to Thailand and Cambodia...
    
    , Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
  • Cape Cormorant
    Cape Cormorant
    The Cape Cormorant or Cape Shag, Phalacrocorax capensis, is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa.It breeds from Namibia south to southern Cape Province. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, and also extends up the east coast of South...
    
    , Phalacrocorax capensis
  • Socotra Cormorant
    Socotra Cormorant
    The Socotra Cormorant, Phalacrocorax nigrogularis, is a threatened species of cormorant that is endemic to the Persian Gulf and the south-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is also sometimes known as the Socotran Cormorant or, more rarely, as the Socotra Shag. Individuals occasionally...
    
    , Phalacrocorax nigrogularis
  • Wahlberg's Cormorant or Bank Cormorant, Phalacrocorax neglectus
  • Temminck's Cormorant or Japanese Cormorant, Phalacrocorax capillatus
  • Brandt's Cormorant
    Brandt's Cormorant
    The Brandt's Cormorant is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges, in the summer, from Alaska to the Gulf of California, but the population north of Vancouver Island migrates south during the winter...
    
    , Phalacrocorax penicillatus
  • Spectacled Cormorant
    Spectacled Cormorant
    The Spectacled Cormorant or Pallas's Cormorant is an extinct marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabited Bering Island and possibly other places in the Komandorski Islands and the nearby coast of Kamchatka...
    
    , Phalacrocorax perspicillatus - extinct (c.1850)
  • Common Shag
    Common Shag
    The European Shag or Common Shag is a species of cormorant. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern...
    
    , Phalacrocorax aristotelis
  • Pelagic Cormorant
    Pelagic Cormorant
    The Pelagic Cormorant , also known as Baird's Cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called Pelagic Shag occasionally...
    
     or Baird's Cormorant, Phalacrocorax pelagicus
  • Red-faced Cormorant
    Red-faced Cormorant
    The Red-faced Cormorant, Red-faced Shag or Violet Shag, Phalacrocorax urile, is a species of cormorant that is found in the far north of the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, from the eastern tip of Hokkaidō in Japan, via the Kuril Islands, the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Aleutian...
    
    , Phalacrocorax urile
  • Rock Shag
    Rock Shag
    The Rock Shag , also known as the Magellanic cormorant, is a marine cormorant found around the southernmost coasts of South America. Its breeding range is from around Valdivia, Chile, south to Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, and north to Punta Tombo in Argentina...
    
    , Phalacrocorax magellanicus
  • Guanay Cormorant
    Guanay Cormorant
    The Guanay Cormorant or Guanay Shag is a member of the cormorant family found in on the Pacific coast of Peru and northern Chile...
    
    , Phalacrocorax bougainvillii
  • Pied Cormorant
    Pied Cormorant
    The Australia Pied Cormorant , Phalacrocorax varius, also known as the Pied Cormorant or Pied Shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. It is found around the coasts of Australasia. In New Zealand it is usually known either as the Pied Shag or by its Māori name of Karuhiruhi...
    
     or Yellow-faced Cormorant, Phalacrocorax varius
  • Black-faced Cormorant
    Black-faced Cormorant
    The Black-faced Cormorant , also known as the Black-faced Shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. Upperparts, including facial skin and bill, are black, with white underparts. It is endemic to coastal regions of southern Australia.-Ecology:The Black-faced-Cormorant feeds largely on...
    
    , Phalacrocorax fuscescens
  • King Shag
    King Shag
    The Rough-faced Shag , also known as New Zealand King Shag or King Shag, is a rare bird endemic to New Zealand.- Description :...
    
     or Rough-faced Shag, Phalacrocorax carunculatus
  • Stewart Island Shag
    Stewart Island Shag
    The Bronze Shag , also known as the Stewart Island Shag or Stewart Shag, is a species of shag endemic to the southernmost parts of the South Island of New Zealand, from the Otago Peninsula south to the Foveaux Strait, and to Stewart Island/Rakiura, from which it takes its name.The species is...
    
    , Phalacrocorax chalconotus
  • Chatham Shag, Phalacrocorax onslowi
  • Auckland Shag
    Auckland Shag
    The Auckland Shag or Auckland Islands Shag is a species of cormorant from New Zealand. The species is endemic to the Auckland Islands archipelago. It is a sedentary bird that primarily eats various crustaceans and fish. In recent years, roughly 1,000 pairs have been recorded...
    
    , Phalacrocorax colensoi
  • Campbell Shag, Phalacrocorax campbelli
  • Bounty Shag, Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi
  • Imperial Shag
    Imperial Shag
    The Imperial Shag, Phalacrocorax atriceps, is a black and white cormorant native to many subantarctic islands, the Antarctic Peninsula and southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. It is sometimes placed in the genus Leucocarbo instead...
    
     or Blue-eyed Shag, Phalacrocorax atriceps
    • White-bellied Shag, Phalacrocorax atriceps albiventer
  • Antarctic Shag, Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis
  • South Georgia Shag, Phalacrocorax georgianus
  • Heard Shag
    Heard Shag
    The Heard Island Shag , or Heard Island Cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to the Australian territory comprising the Heard and McDonald Islands in the Southern Ocean, about 4100 km south-west of Perth, Western Australia.-Taxonomy:The Heard Island Shag is one of the blue-eyed shags,...
    
    , Phalacrocorax nivalis
  • Crozet Shag, Phalacrocorax melanogenis
  • Kerguelen Shag
    Kerguelen Shag
    The Kerguelen Shag is a species of cormorant endemic to the Kerguelen Islands. Many authorities consider it a subspecies of the Imperial Shag.-Range and habitat:...
    
    , Phalacrocorax verrucosus
  • Macquarie Shag
    Macquarie Shag
    The Macquarie Shag , Macquarie Island Shag or Macquarie Island Cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, about halfway between Australia and Antarctica....
    
    , Phalacrocorax purpurascens
  • Red-footed Shag, Phalacrocorax gaimardi
  • Spotted Shag
    Spotted Shag
    The Spotted Shag or Parekareka, Phalacrocorax punctatus, is a species of cormorant endemic to New Zealand. Originally classified as Phalacrocorax punctatus, it is sufficiently different in appearance from typical members of that genus that to be for a time placed in a separate genus, Stictocarbo,...
    
     Phalacrocorax punctatus
  • Pitt Cormorant or Featherstone's Shag Phalacrocorax featherstoni
  • Little Pied Cormorant
    Little Pied Cormorant
    The Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the sub-Antarctic...
    
    , Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
  • Long-tailed Cormorant
    Long-tailed Cormorant
    The Reed Cormorant , also known as the Long-tailed Cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some seasonal movements.This is a common and widespread species, and is not considered to...
    
    , Phalacrocorax africanus
  • Crowned Cormorant
    Crowned Cormorant
    The Crowned Cormorant, Microcarbo coronatus, is a small cormorant that is endemic to the waters of the cold Benguela Current of southern Africa. It is an exclusively coastal species and is always found at least 10 km away from land...
    
    , Phalacrocorax coronatus
  • Little Cormorant
    Little Cormorant
    The Little Cormorant is a member of the Cormorant family of seabirds: Aptly named, the Little Cormorant is small in comparison with other cormorants, only 55 cm in length with an average mass of 442.5 g...
    
    , Phalacrocorax niger
  • Pygmy Cormorant
    Pygmy Cormorant
    The Pygmy Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It breeds in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within in its breeding range...
    
    , Phalacrocorax pygmaeus
  • Flightless Cormorant
    Flightless Cormorant
    The Flightless Cormorant , also known as the Galapagos Cormorant, is a cormorant native to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly...
    
    , Phalacrocorax harrisi

• Anhingidae
  • Anhinga
    Anhinga
    The Anhinga , sometimes called Snakebird, Darter, American Darter, or Water Turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word "anhinga" comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird.It is a cormorant-like bird with an average body length of , a...
    
     or American Darter, Anhinga anhinga
  • Oriental Darter
    Oriental Darter
    The Oriental Darter or Indian Darter , sometimes called Snakebird, is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia.-Taxonomy:...
    
     or Indian Darter, Anhinga melanogaster
  • African Darter
    African Darter
    The African Darter , sometimes called the Snakebird, is a water bird of sub-Saharan Africa.-Taxonomy:The African Darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to American , Oriental , and Australian Darters.-Description:The male is mainly glossy...
    
    , Anhinga rufa
  • Australasian Darter or Australian Darter, Anhinga novaehollandiae